Hooters Abruptly Closes Restaurants Across U.S. Amid Bankruptcy

CLEARWATER, FL — A restaurant chain known for its risqué, albeit cheeky, branding and servers clad in hot pants has closed locations across the U.S. in recent weeks.

The legacy chain first opened in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983 and now has more than 420 locations in 42 states and 29 countries.

Although Hooters filed for bankruptcy in late March, the chain initially said it would not be closing any locations.

"Our renowned Hooters restaurants are here to stay," Hooters Chief Executive Officer Sal Melilli said on March 30.

The company said it had reached an agreement "in principle" to sell certain company-owned Hooters locations to a group of current franchisees, including some of the chain’s original founders. This buyer group already owned and operated more than 30 percent of Hooters' franchised restaurants in the U.S., including 14 of the 30 top-performing locations.

As part of the proposed sale, Hooters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Texas court. The company said it expected to emerge from bankruptcy within 90 to 120 days.

At the time, it remained unclear which company-owned locations were included in the deal. According to Hooters, the bankruptcy filing did not affect its existing franchise locations.

Restaurants were set to operate in "a business-as-usual manner" during Chapter 11 proceedings. But the company said it would evaluate its operational footprint.

It appears the company did so by closing several long-standing locations across the country this week.

According to news reports, the following locations have shuttered: Memphis, Tennessee; Jacksonville, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; Newport, Kentucky; Evansville, Indiana; Taylor, Michigan; Flint, Michigan; Valdosta, Georgia; Tuscaloosa, Alabama and more.

"I moved to Tallahassee from Kansas City in 1988. I was 26 years old and Hooters was the first place I went for beer & wings," Greg S. told Outkick.

Last summer, scores of Hooters locations closed due to "pressure from market conditions," according to a company statement at the time.

"As we look toward the future, we are committed to restoring the Hooters brand back to its roots and simplifying ... operations by adopting a pure franchise model that will maximize the potential for sustainable, long-term growth," Neil Kiefer, CEO of Hooters Management Corporation, said previously.

The restaurant is infamous for its main draw — “Hooters Girls,” who serve wings and beer in the brand’s iconic white tank tops and bright orange hot pants.

The menu offers basic hamburgers, sandwiches, steaks, seafood entrees, appetizers and chicken wings. Most Hooters locations hold alcoholic beverage licenses and sell bright orange Hooters merchandise.

But on the wings of its Chapter 11 proceedings came an announcement to overhaul the company's image by doing away with bikini nights and elevating the menu.

Kiefer recently told Fox News that he plans to make Hooters "more acceptable to mainstream society."

Part of the issue, Kiefer told Fox News, has been franchisees like Hooters of America, which strayed from the founders' original vision and made changes inconsistent with the brand.

"For over two years, we've been complaining," Kiefer said of the brand's iconic orange shorts worn by servers. "[But] we only had standing to complain. We couldn't rule how the [restaurants] were being run."

While the shorts were meant to have more of an atheletic look, Keifer says "somewhere along the line," Hooters of America "went to the more revealing" shorts, "which to us does not jibe with a neighborhood restaurant that some families choose to frequent."

"You don't want to have a butt cheek in your plate," he added.