By Elaine Kurtenbach, Associated Press Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) – Hooters, a US-based restaurant chain known for its chicken wings and “Hooters Girls,” has filed for bankruptcy protection.
HOA Restaurant Group filed a Chapter 11 protection claim Monday with North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.
The company has encountered financial problems as its debt increased, but it says it intends to remain open within a few months to resolve the issue. The company’s original founders group, which owns almost a third of Hooters’ US locations, will buy and operate more stores, including about half of its largest volume restaurants, Hooters said in a news release.
“Our famous Hooters restaurant is staying here and we are taking action to strengthen our business to provide better service to our valued customers over the long term,” the company said in a notice on its website.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Hooters was founded in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida. The trouble was brewed for a while.
The Hooters had sponsored the No. 9 NASCAR car driven by Chase Elliott since 2017, but last year Hendrick Motorsports ended its longtime sponsor relationship as it failed to meet its financial commitment.
Its business strategy has faced many years of challenges, including lawsuits over the employment of “Hooters Girls” only to serve customers.
Last year, he paid $250,000 and agreed to provide other relief to resolve the race and color discrimination lawsuit that brought the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to Hooters Outlet in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In 2022, the restaurant claimed it had been closed and rebranded due to changes in customer preferences.
In 2019, Hooters Hotel Casino from the Las Vegas Strip was sold to an Indian hotel company and rebranded as Oyo Hotel and Casino.
In 2017, the company opened a restaurant that did not have tight tops and wait staff as a test of a different approach to the original concept.
Original issue: April 1, 2025 9:37am EDT
