Community Embracing 'New' Tilted Kilt

With just about a week under their kilts back in business, the girls of the reopened Tilted Kilt in Palm Desert have been kept busy.

That's according to co-owner Russ Dalgetty who tells Palm Desert Patch that, so far, the restaurant has been "meeting or exceeding" business expectations.

"If our first four days are any indication, the Valley is very happy to have us back," Dalgetty said on Thursday.

The business officially reopened under new owners-- Dalgetty and his business partner Darren Myshak-- on Monday to great fanfare after being closed for just over a year.  The 299 capacity eatery has been full every night since opening, he added.

The two Canadian investors spent some $350,000 to upgrade the facility, and hired more than 150 employees from the 800 applicants they received, Dalgetty said.

Of those employees, 97 now are clad in the famous Tilted Kilt midriff-baring uniform.

"The Tilted Kilt girl is the cornerstone of our organization," he said, adding that he's working to maintain a more classy reputation after hiring intelligent, hard working women to fill the roles.

Dalgetty-- who is planning on permanently relocating to the Valley after coming down to visit the last 25 years-- told Patch that city of Palm Desert has been very accommodating, and he's happy to have his new business located in town.

"I really think [Palm Desert] is the nucleus of the entire Valley," he said.  "Everything starts in Palm Desert and works its way out... It's where all the action is."