Could this be the end for Hooters, the cheeky worldwide American dining restaurant that started in Florida?
The popular sports-bar-restaurant chain is reportedly gearing up to file for bankruptcy in the next few months to restructure its debt, according to Bloomberg. That doesn’t mean the struggling company is going under, but if successful it could still mean changes in management and a further reduction in locations.
Hooters has not officially commented, but the chain has had a rocky few years with the loss of walk-in traffic during the pandemic and the rising costs of food. Last year Hooters shuttered at least 40 locations nationwide including four in Florida. One of them, in Lakeland, was said by locals to have been the second Hooters ever opened, in 1984.
“Like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores,” the Atlanta-based sports bar chain said at the time in a statement to Nation’s Restaurant News.
Over four decades since they opened the first one in Clearwater, Hooters has more than 320 Hooters in 25 countries and 251 in the U.S., although the chain’s “about us” page still lists 420 in 29 countries.
Some Hooters locations, including 11 in South Florida, are operated by LTP Management, a franchisee of Hooters of America, spokesperson Ilona Wolpin said in 2024. The “Original Hooters” website, which still uses the original slogan “Delightfully Tacky, Yet Unrefined,” shows two new locations opening in Florida this summer.
Florida remains the home to 44 Hooters, more than any other state. Texas is the closest, with 39.
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What is Hooters?
The first Hooters opened in Clearwater in 1983, when “six businessmen with no restaurant experience whatsoever got together to open a place they couldn’t get kicked out of,” according to company lore. At its height, it was the largest chain in the “brestaurant” genre of restaurants that advertise attractive waitresses in tight shirts and shorts.
“Hooters Girls” wear white tank tops with the “Hootie the Owl” logo and short orange shorts, plus tan pantyhose and reflect what an old version of the employees’ handbook (published by the Smoking Gun) called “the look of the ‘All American Cheerleader, Surfer, Girl Next Door.”
Hooters of Sarasota recently celebrated their 35th anniversary and received a $7,500 gift from Sarasota nonprofit Local 7433 for their fundraising campaign for the Kelly Jo Dowd Breast Cancer Research Fund. In addition to the Dowd Fund, Hooters assists several organizations, including the Sarasota Fire Department, Hope Family Services, Special Olympics Florida, Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, and Suncoast Charities for Children.
Hooters is renowned for wings, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, and beer, the annual Hooters Girls calendar and the Miss Hooters Pageant. At one time, the chain had more than 430 locations worldwide, a casino hotel in Las Vegas, a TV show, and even an airline called “Hooters Air.”
The company has long supported local charities, marathons and local services, and for years it sponsored NASCAR drivers. However, longtime partner Hendrick Motorsports dropped them last year, saying the restaurant chain “has not been able to meet its business obligations.” The Hooters logo had adorned Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet.
Hooters is also famous for multiple lawsuits over discriminatory hiring practices and for going through a long list of owners. Most recently, in 2019, Hooters was sold to Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors.
Which Hooters locations closed in Florida?
Hooters closed four Florida locations last year:
Where is Hooters still open in Florida?
A group of Hooters Girls gather at the bar to perform a short song for a patron’s birthday.
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Beachplace, 17 S Atlantic Blvd Suite 304, Fort Lauderdale
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Destin, 15015 Emerald Coast Pkwy
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Doral, 8695 NW 13th Terrace, Miami
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Ocala, 2711 SW 27th Ave
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Tampa, 4215 W. Hillsborough Ave
Why did Hooters close locations? Is Hooters going out of business?
Like many other restaurant chains such as Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, Burger King, Appleby’s, Cracker Barrel, and the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Hooters took a hit during the pandemic and is suffering from the recent rise in food costs.
During the pandemic, Hooters pivoted to take-out sales. In 2021, Hooter of America (HOA) Brands CEO Sal Melilli told Business Insider that to-go sales were 30% of their business, up from 20% pre-pandemic, and the company was emphasizing their fast-casual chain Hoots.
Hooters has expanded in other ways. The original founders of the company maintain the rights to five counties in Florida and announced last year that three new Hooters were coming to The Villages in Central Florida, with another three opening in Las Vegas, according to a press release. Their website lists two opening this summer, at 700 Kristine Way in The Villages and 25245 Wesley Chapel Blvd in Lutz.
“With new Hooters restaurants opening domestically and internationally, new Hooters frozen products launching at grocery stores, and the Hooters footprint expanding into new markets with both company and franchise locations, this brand of 41 years remains highly resilient and relevant,” a Hooters representative told the Palm Beach Post. “We look forward to continuing to serve our guests at home, on the go and at our restaurants here in the U.S. and around the globe.”
Contributing: Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune/USA TODAY Network-Florida
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Hooters bankruptcy possible. Which Florida locations closed?
