Hooters has two sites in the UK, in Nottingham and Liverpool, with plans from a franchisee to open a third in Newcastle.
The US firm behind Hooters has said it will file for bankruptcy (Alamy/PA)
The US firm behind Hooters has said it will file for bankruptcy (Alamy/PA)
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The Hooters restaurant group, known for its skimpy staff uniforms, has filed for bankruptcy.
Parent firm Hooters of America (HOA) filed for bankruptcy protection as it seeks to strike a deal which would sell its company-owned restaurants back to a group including its founders.
HOA filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection on Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.
The company directly operates 151 restaurants and has another 154 sites, mainly in the US, which are run by franchisees.
Franchise operations – including those in the UK – are not impacted by the bankruptcy process and will continue to operate.
It currently has two sites in the UK, in Nottingham and Liverpool.
The Nottingham franchise, run by Julian Mills and Johnny Goard, has been operating since 1998.
The pair of franchisees announced plans to open another Hooters restaurant in Newcastle in February, despite concerns from local councillors and women’s charities.
Hooters’ Liverpool restaurant opened in 2022 despite criticism from then mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, who claimed it would create a “misogynistic environment”.
The company behind the Liverpool franchise went into liquidation in December last year and has since been taken over by a new franchisee.
Meanwhile, the US parent company ran into financial woes on the back of mounting debts.
It told investors it intends to stay open and resolve its troubles within months.
It said a group including its founders, which owns almost a third of Hooters’ US locations, plans to buy and operate more of the group’s outlets.
“Our renowned Hooters restaurants are here to stay and we are taking action to strengthen our business to better serve our valued customers over the long term,” Hooters said in a notice on its website.
The restaurant group, based in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983.