[1] Born Lynn D. Stewart in Woodstock, Illinois, in 1943, Stewart gained early fame as an offensive guard playing for the 1963 Fighting Illini squad alongside center Dick Butkus, tackle Archie Sutton, and running back Jim Grabowski.
When he realized that working in a mine was extremely hazardous, he moved his family from Chattanooga to Florida, where they had relatives.
[5] Stewart and five business associates opened the first Hooters in Clearwater, Florida, on April Fools' Day, April 1, 1983,[6] as an inside joke because they were sure they would fail at the venture, even going so far as placing tombstones bearing the names of previous tenants who failed in that location outside the entrance of their new establishment.
[6][8] The United States Federal Government and Internal Revenue Service filed charges against Stewart in 2005, claiming that he failed to report $11 million in income which he earned by selling his stock and ownership in Hooters Inc.[9] Stewart was charged with two counts each of tax evasion and of filing false income-tax returns for the years 1997 and 1998.
Stewart maintained that his personal assistant and financier, Mike Maricle, was to blame for any tax discrepancies.