Hooters restaurants keep closing across US but CEO says theres more to the story

Hooters restaurants continue to disappear across America, including several longtime locations in Florida — but the iconic chain’s CEO insists the closures aren’t a sign that the brand is losing its appeal.Neil Kiefer, CEO of Florida-based Hooters Inc., told Fox News Digital the company is focused on rebuilding the restaurant chain after its original founders regained control of the brand following its 2025 bankruptcy.“The number of stores will go up and down, but the longevity of our commitment will not,” Kiefer said.“These store closures are not an indication of brand strength.”His remarks come after Fox News Digital reported that Hooters closed its last remaining restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, ending a 40-year presence in the city.The closure followed the September shutdown of a Hooters in Panama City Beach, which had operated for more than three decades.Other longtime locations have also disappeared, including a Hooters in Boca Raton, Florida, which closed earlier this year after 16 years when its landlord declined to renew the lease.But Kiefer said the recent closures need to be viewed in the context of the company’s ownership changes.“In March 2025, Hooters of America filed for bankruptcy,” he said.“Hooters of America was a separate corporate entity from the original Hooters team that first founded the brand and their first restaurant in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983,” he went on.“While these two groups may have shared a name, they shared nothing else.

The original founders saw an opportunity to step in and reclaim their brand, integrity, and legacy.Since these acquisitions, we’ve learned some stores were in various stages of need.”Kiefer also emphasized that the closures should not be viewed as a reflection of the restaurant chain’s “beloved staff, community or sisterhood of the orange shorts.”The restaurant chain has been working to reinvent itself under its new ownership — with a renewed emphasis on food, hospita...