Hooters, a US-based restaurant chain known for 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 resolve the issue within a few months. 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.
“Hooters stays here and with a stronger financial foundation and streamlined operations on the other side of this process, we are suited to continue to offer our guests an engrossed hospitality experience and delicious food.
Based in Atlanta, Hooters was founded in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida.
The trouble was brewed for a while.
Hooters had sponsored the No. 9 NASCAR vehicle driven by Chase Elliott since 2017, but last year Hendrick Motorsport 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.
