<p>Hooters, a restaurant chain most famous for its all-female staff serving wings in skimpy clothing, is filing for bankruptcy, the company announced on Monday.</p>
<p>Hooters of America is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas after accumulating $376 million in debt, and through the bankruptcy process, plans to sell off all 100 of its company-owned restaurants to two franchisee groups that operate Hooters locations in Tampa, Florida, in an effort to keep the chain afloat.</p>
<p>“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in our efforts to reinforce Hooters’ financial foundation and continue delivering the guest-obsessed hospitality experience and delicious food our customers and communities have come to expect,” <a href="https://www.hooters.com/about/news/hooters-of-america-takes-strategic-action-to-continue-its-iconic-legacy">said</a> Sal Melilli, chief executive officer of Hooters of America, in a Monday press release.</p>
<p>The company plans to exit bankruptcy in “approximately 90-120 days.”</p>
<p>The bankruptcy process comes with an attempt at a rebrand, or “re-Hooterization,” of the company, Neil Kiefer, the CEO of a company that runs a group of original Hooters restaurants, told Bloomberg.</p>
<p>The leadership is moving toward a more PG-13 vision of the company: no more “bikini nights,” as Bloomberg put it.</p>
<p>“You go to some parts of the country and people say, ‘Oh I could never go to Hooters, my wife would kill me,”’ Kiefer <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-03-27/hooters-bankruptcy-founders-to-welcome-families-end-bikini-nights">said</a>. “That’s depressing to us. We want to change that.”</p>
<p>Hooters was founded in 1983 and became famous for its chicken wings and its female staff wearing orange short shorts and low-cut tank tops.</p>
<p>The chain has been the subject of numerous scandals in recent years that have severely impacted the company, including lengthy legal battles over racial and gender discrimination.</p>
<p>Most famous was a 1996 lawsuit where Hooters was <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/sex-discrimination-does-refusing-hire-men-food-servers-violate">accused</a> of “employment discrimination based on sex in hiring only female food servers, bartenders, and hosts, with the intent of providing a sexually stimulating aura for male patrons.”</p>
<p>In addition to scandals, casual dining as a whole suffered in 2024, with &#8220;TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Bucca di Beppo, and Rubio’s Coastal Grill all filing for bankruptcy last year,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/01/business/hooters-files-for-bankruptcy-as-chains-founders-seek-control/">reported</a>.</p>
<p>According to court filings, Hooters has approximately 5,957 employees in 151 directly owned stores in 22 states, in addition to 154 franchise locations in 19 states and 17 countries, per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-31/hooters-files-bankruptcy-in-texas-as-brand-mulls-turnaround-plan">Bloomberg</a>.</p>
<p>The company confidently <a href="https://www.hooters.com/our-future">asserted</a> in an FAQ announcing the bankruptcy: ”Is Hooters going out of business? No. Hooters is here to stay.”</p>

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No More ‘Bikini Nights’: Hooters Goes Bankrupt, Pivots To PG-13 Vision In ‘Re-Hooterization’

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No More ‘Bikini Nights’: Hooters Goes Bankrupt, Pivots To PG-13 Vision In ‘Re-Hooterization’