Is Hooters closing? Restaurants are ‘here to stay' after chain files for bankruptcy
Is Hooters closing? Restaurants are 'here to stay' after chain files for bankruptcy
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Phillie Phanatic joins Elphaba for 'Wicked' opening day performance
Mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Phillies Phanatic, surprised the crowd on opening day at Citizen Bank Park dressed as Glinda from Wicked.
Hooters of America has become the latest major restaurant chain to file for bankruptcy.
The sports bar and grill chain submitted a bankruptcy filing in Texas on Monday after accumulating $376 million in debt.
Through the protection, the Atlanta-based company aims to sell 151 of its corporate-owned restaurants to a buyer group that already operates 30 of its U.S. locations, Reuters reported. Before the proceedings are finalized, a U.S. bankruptcy judge must approve the transaction.
"With over 30 years of hands-on experience across the Hooters ecosystem, we have a profound understanding of our customers and what it takes to not only meet, but consistently exceed their expectations," said buyer group member Neil Kiefer, who is also the CEO of the original Hooters' restaurant in Clearwater, Florida.
The company joins casual dining chains from Buca di Beppo to Red Lobster to grapple with inflation, high labor costs and fewer customers. Hooters also shares a private equity owner with TGI Fridays, which also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, citing several business challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here's what to know about how the filing will impact the restaurant chain, known for its chicken wings and servers wearing orange shorts and low-cut tank tops.
Are Hooters restaurants closing?
No, Hooters restaurants are not closing as a result of the bankruptcy filing.
"Hooters is here to stay, and with a stronger financial foundation and streamlined operations on the other side of this process, we will be well-positioned to continue delivering the guest-obsessed hospitality experience and delicious food our valued customers and communities have come to expect well into the future," the company wrote on its website.
When will Hooters exit bankruptcy?
Hooters said it plans to exit bankruptcy in about three to four months after completing its transaction deal with a a buyer group.
How many Hooters locations are there?
There are 305 Hooters locations, including 151 owned and operated by the company itself and a separate 154 operated by franchisees.
Is Hooters changing its menu?
Hooters does not plan to change its product offerings as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings.
The company promises to "continue providing customers with the guest-obsessed hospitality experience and delicious food they have come to expect over the past 40 years."
Contributing: Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
States sue to block the sale of genetic data collected by DNA testing company 23andMe
Dozens of states have filed a joint lawsuit against the bankrupt DNA-testing company 23andMe to block the company's sale of its customers' genetic data without explicit consent. The suit, filed this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri, comes months after 23andMe began a court-supervised sale process of its assets. The South San Francisco-based venture was once valued at $6 billion and has collected DNA samples from more than 15 million customers. The company's bankruptcy has raised questions over privacy standards for genetic data, which experts say is uniquely sensitive, immutable and irreplaceable if stolen. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia filed the lawsuit, arguing that 23andMe customers have an inherent right to their own genetic information. Read more: 'People should be worried': 23andMe bankruptcy could expose customers' genetic data 'This isn't just data — it's your DNA," said Oregon Atty. Gen. Dan Rayfield in a statement. "It's personal, permanent, and deeply private. People did not submit their personal data to 23andMe thinking their genetic blueprint would later be sold off to the highest bidder." 23andMe announced in May that it would be sold to New York-based drug maker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which had agreed to comply with 23andMe's existing privacy policy. However, a competing offer from nonprofit TTAM Research Institute led the bankruptcy judge to reopen the auction last week. TTAM is run by 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who has made several failed attempts to take the company private. In a statement, a 23andMe spokesperson said the lawsuit's claims "are without merit" and that the sale of genetic data does not violate privacy regulations. 'Customers will continue to have the same rights and protections in the hands of the winning bidder," the spokesperson said. Read more: Congressmen sound alarm over data privacy following 23andMe bankruptcy 23andMe customers have the right to delete their genetic information from the company's database at any time, as outlined in the Genetic Information Privacy Act and the California Consumer Privacy Act. During a testimony in Washington earlier this week, 23andMe interim Chief Executive Joseph Selsavage said that 1.9 million customers have requested their data be deleted since the company's bankruptcy filing in March. Sara Geoghegan, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that 23andMe's privacy policy was subject to change and not adequate to protect customers' data. In an interview in March, she stressed the sensitivity of genetic data. 'I would be very concerned if I had given a swab to 23andMe," she said. "There is little we can do to control what happens to it." Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Chicago Tribune
23 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Observation deck operator in former John Hancock Center plans major expansion and a new ‘immersive experience'
The operator of the 360 Chicago observation deck near the top of the former John Hancock Center said the attraction is taking over two additional floors, creating the city's first multilevel observation deck, a new three-story atrium and a 14,000-square-foot private event space. It's an encouraging sign for the Magnificent Mile, a retail district that has a lot of empty storefronts. Magnicity, the French company that owns 360 Chicago, last year bought the 95th and 96th floors, directly above the 94th-floor observation deck, after the abrupt closure of the legendary Signature Room restaurant and the Signature Lounge, both top tourist spots for decades. 'We are now positioned to bring much-needed investment into these iconic spaces, delivering an experience that truly reflects the historic and architectural significance of this incredible building,' said Nichole Benolken, managing director at 360 Chicago. Although 360 Chicago didn't provide many details about what visitors will experience in the expanded observation deck, it did drop a few hints. WB-Immersive, a global firm that helped design the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 Paralympics, will create an immersive experience for visitors in the renovated spaces, which will also include new exhibits and attractions. 'I can't say too much because we are still in the conceptual design phase,' said Pierre-Antoine Batail, WB-Immersive's head of creative strategy. It's certain that the space will no longer host a restaurant, Benolken said. Immersive retail experiences, such as the new interactive exhibit dedicated to Harry Potter at 676 N. Michigan Ave., have become popular in downtown Chicago, and for many spaces now make more financial sense than restaurants. 'Our decision making was data- and research-driven,' she said. 'The dining scene in Chicago has evolved dramatically in the past 30 years.' The Signature Room closed in September 2023. Its shutdown was a blow to the Magnificent Mile, where the retail vacancy rate soared as a result of online shopping trends and the pandemic. A message posted to the restaurant's social media pages cited COVID-19 and subsequent 'severe economic hardship.' Magnicity invested about $17 million into the former John Hancock Center, the skyscraper now known as 875 North Michigan Avenue, after buying the 94th floor more than 10 years ago. It added attractions such as Tilt, a moving glass ledge that for two minutes dangles guests more than 1,000 feet above the street, and CloudBar, the highest bar in Chicago. Nearly 1 million people visit the observation deck each year, a roughly 60% boost from when Magnicity took over, Benolken said. The company operates similar attractions atop buildings in Berlin, Paris and Rotterdam, Netherlands. The three-floor reconstruction will take 18 to 24 months to complete, and is the most significant interior renovation in the building's 56-year history, said Scott Duncan, design partner at SOM, the architectural firm that designed the 100-story John Hancock Center and leads the current project. SOM plans to connect all three floors with a grand staircase, replace all the windows on the 94th, 95th and 96th floors, providing visitors with much clearer views, and transform the 96th floor into a private event space, he said. That will also raise the profile of 875 North Michigan Avenue, hopefully attracting the many office users seeking spaces in the city's top trophy buildings. 'People are now looking for something out of the ordinary when it comes to office space,' Duncan said. 'And the real pyrotechnics will come when the (observation deck's) new exhibits are revealed.'
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US immigration raid of Omaha meat plant cuts staff, fuels food production worries
By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) -U.S. meat producer Glenn Valley Foods was operating an Omaha, Nebraska, facility with about 30% of its staff on Wednesday after federal agents detained workers in an immigration raid the previous day, slashing the output of products it sells to grocery stores and restaurants, the company's president said. In the wake of Tuesday's sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, livestock traders and market analysts expressed concerns that the potential deportation of undocumented workers from such raids could disrupt U.S. food production at a time when beef prices have soared and meat processors report a labor shortage. ICE agents detained about 74 to 76 workers out of roughly 140 at the Glenn Valley Foods plant, President Chad Hartmann said. Other workers did not show up on Wednesday because they felt afraid or traumatized, he said, adding that the facility's production dropped to about 20% of normal. Glenn Valley Foods sells steak, chicken and corned beef products to restaurants and grocery stores, according to its website. Retail beef prices have set records as the size of the U.S. cattle herd has declined to its lowest level in 70 years after a years-long drought raised feed costs. Consumer demand for steaks and hamburgers has stayed strong nevertheless. Glenn Valley Foods is trying to determine how long it will take to hire new employees, Hartmann said. "The hole that got punched into our business is staffing," he said. Livestock traders worried that immigration raids could slow meat companies' demand to buy cattle from farmers to process into beef, if the companies do not have enough workers. Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures came under pressure on Tuesday during the raid, after recently hitting records. "There's certainly going to be nervousness out there on where the labor situation goes, going forward," said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska. Meatpackers still face an acute worker shortage, said Julie Anna Potts, president of the Meat Institute industry group. It worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when major companies such as Tyson Foods temporarily shut plants because of a lack of workers. Glenn Valley used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. Hartmann said Homeland Security told him on Wednesday that there was no better system. "We will have to continue to use it," he said. ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally. Footage of the Glenn Valley raid released by ICE showed agents searching the plant, restraining workers' hands and ankles, and taking them into custody. ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda of record-level deportations. Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to rights advocates. On Tuesday night, demonstrators marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago. More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. The Omaha World-Herald newspaper said on Tuesday that raids were also reported at local plants run by large meatpackers Tyson and JBS USA. Tyson and JBS told Reuters their facilities were not raided.
