NewsNational News

Actions

Hooters restaurant chain files for bankruptcy protection

Hooters sign
Posted

Hooters, the U.S.-based restaurant chain known for chicken wings and "Hooters Girls" skimpy wait-staff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.

The company ran into financial woes as its debts mounted, but it says it intends to stay open and resolve its troubles within months. A group of the company's original founders that own almost a third of Hooters' U.S. locations, including about half of its biggest volume restaurants, plans to buy and operate more of the outlets, Hooters said in a news release.

"Our renowned Hooters restaurants are here to stay and we are taking action to strengthen our business to better serve our valued customers over the long term," the company said in a notice on its website.

Hooters, based in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983. Trouble had been brewing for a while.

Hooters had sponsored the No. 9 NASCAR car driven by Chase Elliott since 2017, but last year, Hendrick Motorsports ended its ties to the longtime sponsor because it was not meeting its financial commitments.

Its business strategy has faced challenges over the years, including lawsuits over its hiring of only "Hooters Girls" to serve customers.

Last year it agreed to pay $250,000 and provide other relief to settle a race and color discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against a Hooters outlet in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In 2022, the restaurant refuted claims it was shutting down and rebranding due to changing customer tastes.

In 2019, the Hooters hotel-casino off the Las Vegas Strip was sold to an Indian hotel company and rebranded as the OYO Hotel and Casino.

In 2017, the company tried opening a restaurant that didn't feature wait-staff in tight tops, as a test of a different approach to its original concept.

“We need to listen to the voice of the people, right?”
Last summer, the Florida Department of Environment Protection considered adding amenities like golf courses, pickleball courts, and hotels to state parks across the state. After public outcry, the plans were shelved, but the fight isn't over for some Florida residents.

Florida residents rally to protect state parks from development plans