Hooters is closing over 30 locations across U.S. Here's where in Florida
These new closures come after the chain filed for bankruptcy back in March. Hooters told USA TODAY on June 4 that the closed stores were company-owned and called the decision to close them a "difficult one."
"Hooters will be well-positioned to continue our iconic legacy under a pure franchise business model," the company said. "We are committed to supporting our impacted team members throughout this process and are incredibly grateful to our valued customers for their loyalty and dedication to the Hooters brand."
Following the closures, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants LLC (the Buyer group) released a statement saying both parties still expect approximately 200 domestic and 60 international Hooters restaurants to remain open.
They reiterated that the restructuring transactions allow the Buyer Group to acquire more than 100 HOA-owned restaurants and are still proceeding as contemplated.
'We are confident that the acquisition will be finalized later this summer and we are excited to move forward into the next chapter of the Hooters brand," Neil Kiefer, CEO of Hooters Inc. on behalf of the Buyer Group. "The Buyer Group has been extremely impressed with the restaurant-level employees of the restaurants they are acquiring and are excited to welcome them into the Hooters Inc. and Attila Wings organizations."
The following locations were confirmed by the USA TODAY Network to be closed:
Sanford - 550 Towne Center Circle
Orlando - 5300 Kirkman Road
Kissimmee - 1201 W Osceola Parkway
Melbourne - 877 S Babcock Street
Jacksonville - 4521 Southside Boulevard
Tallahassee - 2000 N. Monroe Street
The chain also closed four Florida locations last year:
Gainesville, 3105 SW 34th St.
Lakeland, 3437 South Florida Ave.
Orange Park, 1740 Wells Road
West Palm Beach, 2020 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
According to company lore, the first Hooters opened in Clearwater in 1983, when "six businessmen with no restaurant experience whatsoever got together to open a place they couldn't get kicked out of."
At its height, it was the largest chain in the "brestaurant" genre of restaurants that advertise attractive waitresses in tight shirts and shorts.
"Hooters Girls" wear white tank tops with the "Hootie the Owl" logo and short orange shorts, plus tan pantyhose and reflect what an old version of the employees' handbook (published by the Smoking Gun) called "the look of the 'All American Cheerleader, Surfer, Girl Next Door."
Hooters is renowned for wings, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, and beer, the annual Hooters Girls calendar and the Miss Hooters Pageant. The chain once had more than 430 locations worldwide, a casino hotel in Las Vegas, a TV show, and even an airline called "Hooters Air."
Hooters is also famous for multiple lawsuits over discriminatory hiring practices and for going through a long list of owners. Most recently, in 2019, Hooters was sold to Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors.
The chain has had a rocky few years, with the loss of walk-in traffic during the pandemic and rising food costs. Last year, Hooters shuttered at least 40 locations nationwide, including four in Florida. One of them, in Lakeland, was said by locals to have been the second Hooters ever opened, in 1984.
'Like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores,' Hooters of America said at the time in a statement to Nation's Restaurant News.
However, Hooters Inc., which markets itself under originalhooters.com, owns and operates 13 locations in the Tampa area and 13 more in the Chicago area.
Beachplace, 17 S Atlantic Blvd Suite 304, Fort Lauderdale
Boca Raton, 2240 NW 19th St Suite 1101-A
Bradenton, 4908 14th St W
Brandon, 10023 E Adamo Dr
Cape Coral, 3120 Del Prado Blvd S
Clearwater, 2800 Gulf to Bay Blvd (the original)
Clearwater Beach, 381 Mandalay Ave
Coral Way, 3301 SW 22nd St Unit 104, Miami
Daytona Beach, 2100 W International Speedway Blvd
Destin, 15015 Emerald Coast Pkwy
Doral, 8695 NW 13th Terrace, Miami
Ft. Lauderdale - Cypress Creek, 6345 N Andrews Ave
Fort Myers, 4411 Cleveland Ave
Fort Myers Beach, 4411 Cleveland Ave
Hialeah, 680 W 49th St
Jacksonville San Jose, 8938 San Jose Blvd
Kissimmee West, 8207 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy
Lake Buena Vista, 8510 Palm Pkwy, Orlando
Lakeland II, 3400 US Hwy 98 N
Madiera Beach, 192 Johns Pass, Boardwalk Pl W
Melbourne West, 695 Palm Bay Rd NE
Naples, 3625 Gateway Ln
Ocala, 2711 SW 27th Ave
Odessa, 16070 State Rd 54
Orlando Airport, 7222 Augusta National Dr
Orlando I Drive, 8801 International Dr
Panama City Beach, 12709 Front Beach Rd
Pembroke Pines, 7990 Pines Blvd
Pensacola Beach, 400 Quietwater Beach Rd
Port Charlotte, 1360 Tamiami Trail
Port Richey, 5336 Treadway Dr
Sarasota, 6507 S Tamiami Trail
Spring Hill, 3437 Commercial Way
St. Petersburg, 4125 4th St N
Sunrise, 3805 N University Dr
Tampa, 4215 W. Hillsborough Ave
Tampa North, 13606 Bruce B Downs Blvd
South Tampa, 4420 West Gandy Blvd
The Villages: 700 Kristine Way (coming summer 2025)
Wesley Chapel: 25245 Wesley Chapel Blvd, Lutz (coming summer 2025)
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Hooters closings come abruptly in Florida. Are any near you?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Myosin Therapeutics Awarded $4.5 Million NCI Bridge Grant to Advance Phase I Trial of MT-125 in Glioblastoma
JUPITER, Fla., Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Myosin Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel therapies for aggressive cancers, today announced it has been awarded a $4.5M Phase IIB Bridge Award from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The funding will support Myosin Therapeutic's Phase I STAR-GBM dose escalation and expansion trial of MT-125, a first-in-class novel small molecule therapeutic being evaluated in patients with newly diagnosed, MGMT unmethylated glioblastoma. Glioblastoma remains among the most lethal cancers, with median survival measured in months. MT-125 targets non-muscle myosin II, a critical driver of tumor cell invasion, proliferation and treatment resistance, representing a novel therapeutic approach that is distinct from existing standards of care. The STAR-GBM trial will assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of MT-125 in this patient population with significant unmet need. Exploratory endpoints include measures of efficacy, including progression-free survival and overall survival. The NCI SBIR program is one of the most competitive federal funding mechanisms for cancer-focused innovation, providing support to small businesses with technologies that have strong scientific merit, commercial potential, and a clear path to clinical impact. Bridge Awards, which require that matching funds from private capital be raised first, are reserved for companies with promising, later-stage projects that have already demonstrated significant technical progress and the potential to attract substantial private investment. "The NCI Bridge Award was perfectly timed to support our STAR-GBM trial, for which patient enrollment is set to begin in November," said Dr. Courtney Miller, co-founder and CEO of Myosin Therapeutics. "It will enable us to generate the data needed to position the program for later-stage development, potential partnerships, and future expansion into a wider range of patients. Our ultimate goal is to deliver a transformative treatment option for patients who currently face limited or inadequate therapeutic choices." About Myosin TherapeuticsMyosin Therapeutics is a Jupiter, FL-based biotechnology company spun out of The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute (formerly Scripps Research, Florida). The company is focused on developing therapies for neuroscience and oncology indications using a platform that targets molecular nanomotor proteins. For more information, visit Contact: contact@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Myosin Therapeutics Inc.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Florida sues textbook publishers over alleged overcharging
Florida has lodged a significant lawsuit against textbook publishers McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning, accusing them of overcharging school districts—including Osceola and Miami-Dade—more than 5,900 times. The lawsuit announced today in St. Cloud claims the overcharging by these companies could lead to civil penalties of up to $60.5 million. Florida taxpayers and students have been affected by these practices, prompting legal action. Attorney General Uthmeier's office received a whistleblower complaint that uncovered overcharging incidents, which led to the lawsuit. 'Publishers that exploit Florida school districts must be held accountable,' said the official statement praising Attorney General Uthmeier for taking action. The lawsuit targets textbook publishers McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning for allegedly fraudulent overcharging that impacted Florida's school districts like Osceola and Miami-Dade, uncovered by a whistleblower. The lawsuit's civil penalties could reach $60.5 million, showing the severity of the claims against the publishers. The Govorner states that Florida aims to shield its taxpayers and students from alleged financial harm. The result of the legal case is still uncertain. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
Nexstar to buy rival Tegna for $6.2B — creating nationwide local TV giant
Nexstar Media Group is buying rival Tegna for $6.2 billion in cash, creating a local TV broadcasting giant as the industry bets on regulatory changes to unleash consolidation. The acquisition prices Tegna shares at $22 each — representing a 31% premium over the company's average trading price before news of negotiations surfaced. Nexstar, whose subsidiaries include NewsNation, TV Food Network and a constellation of local affiliates in several large markets, beat out rival Sinclair, which was offering between $25 and $30 per share, significantly above Nexstar's winning bid. Advertisement 3 Nexstar Media Group is snapping up rival Tegna in a $6.2 billion cash takeover. Timon – But Sinclair is worth just $1 billion compared to Nexstar's $6.3 billion market cap, making it the industry David trying to beat Goliath. Making matters worse, Sinclair is drowning in over $4 billion of debt that would complicate any major acquisition. Sinclair pitched splitting off its side businesses — including Tennis Channel and other investments — and combining its core broadcast operation with Tegna's 64 stations, according to the Wall Street Journal. Advertisement Nexstar CEO Perry Sook hailed the deal with Tegna, adding that the Trump administration's deregulatory policies give local broadcasters chances to 'expand reach' and 'level the playing field' against Big Tech and major media corporations. The merger will bring Nexstar into key metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle and Minneapolis, strengthening its nationwide coverage. Howard Elias, chair of Tesla's board, pointed to the industry's transformation, noting that lawmakers across the spectrum are pushing for updated broadcasting rules. Advertisement 3 The deal values Tegna at $22 a share — a 31% premium over its pre-deal average. JHVEPhoto – The combination pairs Tegna's television properties with Nexstar's extensive station network, reinforcing its status as a dominant force in local broadcasting. Sook highlighted his company's history of successful acquisitions, such as its purchase of Tribune Media six years ago. He outlined a familiar strategy: enhance local programming, realize cost efficiencies and use strong cash generation to reduce borrowing. Advertisement 'We believe Tegna represents the best option for Nexstar to act on this opportunity,' Sook stated, citing Tegna's quality stations in major demographic markets. 3 The deal with Tegna extends Nexstar's reach into cities nationwide. The image above shows the Tegna-owned NBC affiliate near Minneapolis. MelissaMN – Tegna's chief executive Mike Steib expressed enthusiasm about partnering with a like-minded broadcaster committed to local news. 'Together, we will expand news coverage to serve more communities, across more screens,' Steib said in the announcement. The deal was announced amid a difficult period for linear television as conventional broadcasters battle streaming platforms and tech companies for viewers and advertising revenue. Elias noted the merger would enable stations to 'be better able to compete in today's highly fragmented media environment.' The deal is contingent on regulatory approval, though both firms expressed optimism about the review process.
