HOOTERS has officially been given the court approval to exit bankruptcy.
The chain was recently given the go from the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas to exit bankruptcy and reorganize its entire operation into a franchise model under its current CEO.
Hooters has officially exited bankruptcy[/caption]
Hooters filed for bankruptcy after facing $300 million of debt[/caption]
Hooters has undergone a full rebrand following its bankruptcy filing earlier this year.
Part of this is the shift to a purely franchise model, which will see Hooters Inc., the group that founded the brand back in 1983, buy up the majority of the remaining 151 restaurants.
In August, Hooters Inc. CEO and franchise owner, Neil Keifer, argued his case to the court that he was the man to take Hooters forward.
At the time, he owned 22 Hooters restaurants, and will be the man to lead Hooters on from its bankruptcy period.
Keifer has confirmed plans to take Hooters in a more family-friendly direction going forward.
CLEAN UP CREW
He had previously revealed that he had complained about the notoriously sexualized Hooters uniforms for years.
Keifer said his team plans to “clean these stores up” and “change the culture.”
He said: “Somewhere along the line they 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 that the shorts were originally intended to be “athletic”, but somewhere along the way became shorter and more revealing.
Going forward, Hooters will axe weekly bikini nights, and strict uniform guidelines will be created for staff.
The dining chain will bring back its original sauces, and the menu will be standardized to one across all locations.
Kiefer has also described the vision for the Hooters rebrand as “delightfully tacky”.
FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP
Under the newly approved deal, a corporate franchise will provide franchisees with the necessary equipment to open their own Hooters restaurant.
Full list of Hooters store closures
The following Hooters locations have already closed:
Alabama
- Hooters, Huntsville, 4729 NW University
- Hooters, Birmingham, 1278 Oak Grove Rd
Florida
- Hooters, Gainesville, 3105 SW 34th St
- Hooters, Lakeland, 3437 South Florida Ave
- Hooters, Orange Park, 1740 Wells Road
- Hooters, West Palm Beach, 2020 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd
Kentucky
- Hooters, Louisville, 4948 Dixie Highway
- Hooters, Richmond, 241 Eastern Bypass
Georgia
- Hooters, Brunswick, 10355 Canal Crossing
- Hooters, Hiram, 5464 Wendy Bagwell Pkwy
- Hooters, Macon, 112 Riverside Parkway
- Hoots Wings by Hooters, Atlanta, 935 Memorial Drive NE, Suite 310
- Hooters, McDonough, 1858 Jonesboro Road
Illinois
- Hooters, Springfield, 3241 Horizon Drive
Indiana
- Hooters, Castleton, 6426 E. 82nd St
- Hooters, Clarksville, 941 Lewis & Clark Pkwy
Maryland
- Hooters, Baltimore, 301 Light St 1445
Missouri
- Hooters, Florissant, 2765 N. Highway 67
- Hooters, Independence, 19850 E. Valley View Pkwy
- Hooters, North Kansas City, 6411 Barry Rd
North Carolina
- Hooters, Greenville, 316 S.W. Greenville Blvd
- Hooters, Jacksonville, 463 Western Blvd
- Hooters, Charlotte, 123 W. Trade Street
Oklahoma
- Hooters, Oklahoma City, 13320 N Pennsylvania Ave
South Carolina
- Hooters, Columbia, 7711 Two Notch Road
Tennessee
- Hooters, Memphis, 7535 Winchester Road
Texas
- Hooters, Beaumont, 850 Interstate 10
- Hooters, Laredo, 5706 San Bernardo Avenue
- Hooters, Houston, 2519 Southwest Parkway
- Hooters, Baytown, 4710 I-10 East
- Hooters, Arlington, 5821 West I-20
- Hooters, Wichita Falls, 3701 Call Field Road
- Hooters, Lewisville, 1960 S. Stemmons
- Hooters, San Antonio, 849 E. Commerce St., Ste. 105
- Hooters, Bryan, 960 N. Earl Rudder Fwy
- Hooters, Lubbock, 4950 S. Loop 289
- Hooters, Galveston, 6028 Heards Lane
- Hooters, Waco, 3921 S. Jack Kultgen Freeway
- Hooters, Fort Worth Downtown, 150 Throckmorton, Suite 132
- Hooters, McAllen, 410 E. Expressway 83
- Hooters, San Angelo, 4384 Sherwood Way
- Hooters, Seabrook, 1818 NASA Road 1
- Hooters, Wichita Falls, 3701 Call Field Rd
Virginia
- Hooters, Manassas, 8503 Rixlew Drive
Hooters filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, and launched into the plan, led by Keifer, to split the 151 remaining restaurants between two franchise owners.
Keifer and Hooters Inc. would take the majority of them, and a second franchise would take the rest.
Court documents revealed that Hooters had racked up more than $370 million in debt when it filed for Chapter 11.
During the bankruptcy period, Hooters closed several restaurants in the US.
More than a dozen in Texas closed, as well as locations in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Hooters Inc. was able to make this move after settling with one of its creditors, Lags Equipment LLC.
The group had fought for payments from a three-decade old royalty agreement for 3% of store revenue.
Lags Equipment won the right to continue seeking these payments from more than a dozen Hooters locations in South Florida.
The firm has also maintained the right to contest the loss of continued royalty payments from stores in Texas, Ohio, and Indiana.
