Hooters, the restaurant chain named for the prominently-posed busts of its servers, is going tits up. The company filed for bankruptcy today and announced plans to sell its remaining locations to franchisees, thereby guaranteeing continuity of service for those still dining there.
Hooters said it will continue to operate its business as usual, although it said it is "evaluating the Company's operational footprint" for its company-owned locations. That means it may end up closing some locations during its bankruptcy process. Private equity firms Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors bought Hooters in 2019.
The buyer group includes the original Hooters founders, including Neil Kiefer, CEO of franchisee group Hooters Inc.
"For many years now, the Hooters brand has been owned by private equity firms and other groups with no history or experience with the Hooters brand," Kiefer said in a press release Monday. In an interview with Bloomberg News last week, he said that the turnaround plan includes making the chain more family friendly.
Here's their "first commercial," according to their YouTube account.
