Hooters is closing several “underperforming” restaurants due to “pressure from current market conditions,” the chain announced on June 24. In a statement published by USA Today, the company did not specify which locations will close, how many will close nor when exactly they will shut down. However, the company did emphasize that it does not anticipate more widespread closures after this.
“Ensuring the well-being of our staff is our priority in these rare instances,” the statement reads. “This brand of 41 years remains highly resilient and relevant. 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.” Hooters has locations around the world, so it’s not clear if all of the closures will happen in the U.S. or not. However, reporters from USA Today noted that dozens of restaurants closed on June 24 in the states of Florida, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana.
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Hooters has been closing some restaurants down for years now. The company reportedly had 430 locations in 2016, then 333 locations in 2018, an just 293 locations in 2023. It saw a 12-percent decline in locations from 2018 to this year and a 1.3-percent decline from 2022 to 2023.
On social media, this news was met mostly with ambivalent punchlines. Commenters joked about how the decline of Hooters was inevitable, both in response to restaurant closures and the company’s withdrawal from NASCAR sponsorships. Some even said they were pleased to see the company go, saying it made them uncomfortable.
Hooters was first established in 1983 on the site of a failed nightclub in Clearwater, Florida. It has had a unique life as a brand, with a meteoric rise to success and some surprising spinoffs in its heyday. Those included The Hooters Casino Hotel in Paradise, Nevada, Hooters Magazine and the Hooters Air airline. Criticism of the company is nothing new, though changing attitudes are often named as a reason for the company’s decline in popularity.
It’s also worth noting that other restaurant chain companies are suffering in the current economy, even without Hooters’ social baggage. Red Lobster is closing 99 restaurants around the U.S., as it is unable to cover the lease on those locations. Rubio’s Coastal Grill is also closing 48 restaurants, all in California. Some reports have chalked closures like these up to inflation and general economic difficulties, with Americans unable to regularly afford the luxury of a night out to dinner.
