Latest news with #NeilKiefer
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Hooters abruptly closes restaurants in multiple states amid bankruptcy restructuring: 'Never easy'
Hooters has closed more than 30 of its restaurants in multiple states this week, according to reports. The Atlanta-based Hooters of America locations that closed were corporately owned. "Hooters will be well-positioned to continue our iconic legacy under a pure franchise business model," the company told USA Today in a statement. "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." Hooters of America recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of an effort to enable a founder-led buyout and restructuring of the popular restaurant chain. Fox News Digital reached out to Hooters of America for a list of the locations that closed. USA Today reported that restaurants in at least 10 states have shut down, including in Florida and Texas. Neil Kiefer, CEO of Hooters Inc., the Clearwater, Florida-based company that founded the Hooters concept in 1983, told Fox News Digital in April that his group plans to "clean these stores up" and "change the culture." Closing certain underperforming locations was always part of the plan, according to a news release from Hooters Inc. Hooters Inc. owns and operates 22 Hooters restaurants in Florida and Illinois, with two more locations slated to open in Florida later this year. Along with another existing franchisee, the Hooters buyer group collectively controls over 30% of the domestic locations, including 14 of the 30 highest-volume restaurants, according to a March 31 news release announcing the restructuring plan. Once the restructuring has been approved by a bankruptcy court, the buyer group anticipates operating about 130 Hooters restaurants – roughly 65% of the domestic Hooters locations. "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," Kiefer told Fox News Digital. "Decisions about store closures are never easy to make, but all parties are completely aligned in bringing the necessary resources required to make the remaining 200 domestic Hooters locations as successful as possible."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hooters is closing over 30 locations across U.S. Here's where in Florida
Florida-based restaurant chain Hooters abruptly closed over 30 locations across multiple states, including six 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 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?
Fox News
16-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Hooters ditching bikini nights for over-60 crowd and families
Hooters is going for an upgrade. After the recent announcement that Hooters of America has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of an effort to enable a founder-led buyout and restructuring of the popular restaurant chain, the CEO of one of the two purchasing franchisee groups told Fox News Digital of plans to make Hooters "more acceptable to mainstream society." Neil Kiefer is CEO of Hooters Inc., the Clearwater, Florida-based company that founded the Hooters concept in 1983. Hooters Inc. owns and operates 22 Hooters restaurants in Florida and Illinois, with two more locations slated to open in Florida later this year. Along with another franchisee, the Hooters buyer group controls over 30% of the domestic locations, including 14 of the 30 highest-volume restaurants, said a March 31 news release about the restructuring plan. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Kiefer shared how he saw Hooters of America-run restaurants straying from the original founders' vision and making changes that were inconsistent with the brand — including uniform modifications and differing standards from location to location. (See the video at the top of this article.) "For over two years, we've been complaining," Kiefer said about the iconic orange shorts worn by servers. "[But] we only had standing to complain. We couldn't rule how the [restaurants] were being run." Kiefer said the shorts, as conceived in the 1980s, were "more of an athletic look." "Somewhere along the line," Kiefer said, Hooters of America "went to the more revealing" shorts, "which to us does not jibe with a neighborhood restaurant that some families choose to frequent." "You don't want to have a butt cheek in your plate," he added. "The [shorts are] supposed to be sized to fit appropriately. They're supposed to be athletic, not so much sexual." Alli Lamb, a 21-year-old Hooters waitress and bartender at the Boca Raton, Florida, location, said the uniform hasn't been an issue for her since she started working there. "Everything's covered," Lamb told Fox News Digital. "Nothing's out that doesn't need to be out." Kiefer, for his part, said the over-sexualization of Hooters, which has been called the original "breastaurant," tarnished the brand's image and created a perception problem. "I think that's one of the mistakes the people at Hooters of America made going down that route," he said. That is not an issue, however, at the Boca Raton restaurant, which is independently owned and operated by the original franchisee of Hooters. Chris Torelli, managing partner of the Boca Raton location and director of merchandising for Hooters restaurants in South Florida, told Fox News Digital the bankruptcy announcement initially led to some worried messages from customers. "It gave us the opportunity to explain that we're healthy," Torelli said. "We are a strong franchise, and all the other franchise communities are also healthy and strong. It just lays out what we need to do moving forward to keep the brand successful." That means catering to more than just an 18- to 50-year-old male clientele. "We want the kids. We want the families. We want the over-60 crowd. We want the college students. We want them all," Torelli said. "The best way to do that is to appeal to all those different demographics." Among the ways to revitalize the brand: Create universal standards for servers and hospitality staff, standardize the menu offerings and do away with weekly bikini nights, Kiefer said. "You don't want to walk in after a little league game with your team and have a bikini contest in the store," he said. Also, Hooters will "get the original sauce in all the stores," Kiefer said. The Hooters refresh could take up to two years, he pointed out. But the popular Hooters swimsuit calendar and annual Miss Hooters International Pageant will be sticking around. "That will remain," Kiefer said. "We may not have it this year … [But] there's nothing wrong with beautiful women." Lamb, who is preparing to graduate from Florida Atlantic University, appears on the back cover of this year's swimsuit calendar. She called the photo shoot in the Bahamas "a great experience." As Hooters of America stays focused on returning the brand to its founders, the company is "doubling down on everything that made Hooters legendary in the first place: fun, craveworthy food, unforgettable service and a guest-obsessed experience you can't get anywhere else," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "We are excited to welcome everyone to the next era of Hooters." "I'm here to serve your food and serve your beer," Lamb said. "If you think any other sort of way, then this isn't the place for you."
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I visited Hooters and saw why the chain is facing bankruptcy
Hooters of America filed for bankruptcy at the end of March. The chain has struggled with debt and closed some restaurants last year. I went to a Hooters restaurant in Virginia to see what dining at the restaurant is like. Your local Hooters could see some big changes soon. The restaurant chain is famous for its waitstaff, who wear short shorts and tight tank tops. Starting in the early 1980s, it went from a single restaurant in Florida to hundreds across the US. Hooters even briefly operated an airline in the early 2000s. But at the end of March, Hooters of America, one of two companies that operates Hooters restaurants in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is owned by the private equity firms Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors. Hooters of America's restaurants are still open during the bankruptcy process. The company plans to sell some of its locations to franchisees who opened the first locations back in the '80s. Neil Kiefer, the chief executive of Hooters' founding group, HMC Hospitality Group, told Bloomberg last month that post-bankruptcy, he wants to make Hooters more family-friendly. That would include getting rid of "Bikini Nights" and changing the menu to include better-quality ingredients, he said. I wanted to see what Kiefer and Hooters have to work with to make that transition. Hooters has a specific reputation — some call it a "breastaurant," after all — so rebranding as a family-friendly establishment would be quite a pivot. I headed to a Hooters a short drive from my home in Washington, DC, for lunch to see what it's like. Here's what I found: I visited this Hooters restaurant in Chantilly, Virginia, on a Thursday. Located about 40 minutes by car outside Washington, DC, this Hooters is near Dulles International Airport and several major highways and freeways, including Route 66. The parking spaces immediately around the restaurant were full, which I found surprising given that it was 11:20 a.m. on a Thursday. This Hooters had opened just 20 minutes earlier. The entryway looked exactly like I expected. These photos of women in bikinis and Hooters outfits were in a vestibule as I walked into Hooters. Once I entered the dining room, the hostess seated me right away. I was surprised by how busy Hooters was in the late morning on a weekday. While there were plenty of empty tables, the bar was packed, mostly with what appeared to be middle-aged or older men. One person was even dressed in business casual and looking at spreadsheets on a laptop. Overall, the restaurant was just under half full less than 20 minutes after it had opened. This Hooters location was a lot more lively than other challenged restaurant chains I've visited. When I visited a Red Lobster this past September at a similar time on a weekday, it was nearly empty. And a Cracker Barrel I went to during the summer was about half-full during prime breakfast time. The Hooters in Chantilly, by contrast, was a little busier than I expected. My server told me that many people there were regulars who work at office parks nearby and like to stop by for lunch. My server left me this personalized napkin with her name on it. Right after the hostess showed me to my table, a server came over and introduced herself. She also brought over this napkin, on which she had hand-written her name. All the waitstaff were wearing the same short shorts and tank tops that I'd seen in ads for Hooters. My server was very attentive to me, a guy dining alone, stopping by every five to 10 minutes to make sure I had everything I needed or just chat. If you're a lonely single heterosexual man, that might constitute great service, but it might not appeal to others. Hiring only "attractive servers that suit the male gaze is really alienating at least 50% of your dining population," Lilly Jan, a lecturer at the Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, said in an interview. My server was great, and at no point did I feel uncomfortable, nor was my wife bothered about me visiting Hooters. My (female) editor, however, was very keen to make sure I was OK dining there. I picked up the menu to decide what to order for lunch. The menu had a decent selection of drinks and food, though I'd read that the chicken wings were one of the most popular dishes here. The menu seemed like standard bar food, from three-patty burgers … The Hooters menu included beef burgers as well as a fried chicken sandwich. … to chicken wings that come in a variety of sauces. I ended up ordering 10 breaded wings, half in the honey Sriracha sauce and half with Hooters' Daytona Beach sauce, as well as some curly fries and and a peach lemonade. The server brought me my peach lemonade after a few minutes. The peach lemonade was served in a plastic orange cup. As I waited for my food, I noticed the TVs all around me. I counted 26 televisions around this Hooters restaurant. I don't spend much time in sports bars, but it seemed like it would be a decent place to catch a game or a UFC fight. Big TVs, or a lot of them, aren't as big a draw for restaurants as they used to be. A few decades ago, having a huge, flat-screen TV at home was a luxury. Now, it's pretty common. And many sports are now broadcast on streaming services or other easily available channels that people can watch from their living rooms. That has limited the appeal of bars like Hooters that cater to sports fans, Jan said. One exception is UFC fights, which still charge pay-per-view fees. Fans might be more tempted to go to a sports bar if they can watch the fight there and spend the money on drinks and food instead, Jan said. "They're paying for the rights to broadcast that in their places so that people don't have to spend the money to buy the game," she said. After about 10 minutes, my food arrived. My server brought an extra plate for the bones, which I appreciated. Of the two sauces I tried on the wings, I preferred the honey Sriracha. I liked the slight sweetness of the honey Sriracha wings more than the Daytona Beach sauce. A bit of ranch on the side provided a nice contrast. Hooters' chicken wings were fine. Reviews of Hooters' food often mention the chicken wings as one of the best menu items. I thought that the wings were good, though they weren't quite as crispy as ones I've had elsewhere, such as at Buffalo Wild Wings. Many restaurants, from Raising Cane's to Dave's Hot Chicken, have stepped up their fried chicken offerings over the past several years. That makes it difficult for a chain like Hooters to stand out, Jan said. "The whole category of chicken-heavy menus has just been blowing up a whole lot," she said. The fries were perfectly average. I would have preferred them fried a little longer. My meal at Hooters was fine, but not game-changing. The wings were not great but also not terrible, and the fries were slightly underdone. The peach lemonade was a little too sweet. With a 20% tip, I paid just over $34 for my meal. On my way out, I noticed this selection of Hooters-themed merchandise. As I walked by the display, I realized I couldn't remember the last time I saw anyone wearing a Hooters T-shirt or baseball cap. I have, however, seen people out in public wearing apparel promoting other brands, from the convenience store chain Buc-ee's to the burger chain In-N-Out. Jan said she never sees Hooters apparel when she steps into lecture halls filled with Gen Z students. It's rare to see Hooters merch even at vintage or thrift stores, she said. "There's just not an interest in sustaining that brand," she said. "And this is a generation that has their pretty ironic sense of humor, so that's pretty significant." This poster near the entrance promoted Hooters' catering service. Hooters offers catering as well as pick-up and delivery service. The restaurant's focus seems narrow for a modern audience. Many millennial and Gen Z consumers gravitate toward brands that match their own values, including social inclusion across genders and sexualities, Jan said. "This slightly dated idea of hot women serving you food is not necessarily part of that more inclusive generational narrative," she said. Overall, I wouldn't rush back to Hooters anytime soon. The food at Hooters was all right and the service was friendly. But once you looked past the scantily clad waitresses, Hooters felt just like other fast-casual dining chains that had their heyday decades ago. Kiefer, the restaurant group's CEO, had a point: Whether it's better food or something else, Hooters needs to give customers a better reason to stop by. Big turnarounds in the restaurant world aren't unheard of. Chili's, for example, has spent the past few years remaking itself via value deals and a cheeky social media presence to win over younger diners even as inflation made eating out less affordable. And over a decade ago, Domino's improved sales by revamping its pizza and admitting in ads that its food wasn't so great. Those are the kinds of moves that Hooters should be considering as it emerges from bankruptcy, Jan said. "I think that they really need to make some very strategic and decisive actions to modernize the brand," she said. Do you work in the restaurant industry and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@ Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hooters Files For Bankruptcy, Says Brand 'Isn't Going Anywhere'
Hooters announced Monday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection The company plans to sell its 100 owned locations to two franchise groups Hooters has said it will take 90-120 days to exit bankruptcy Hooters, the restaurant chain known for its all-female waitstaff, neon orange branding, and chicken wings, on Monday it filed for bankruptcy protection. Hooters of America said the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would allow it to continue normal operations during the proceeding. Hooters said in a statement that all of the 100 restaurants it currently owns will be sold off to two existing franchisees. The existing franchisees own and operate more than 30% of Hooters locations in the U.S. . Don't Miss: Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – One of the franchisees is Hooters Inc., which includes many of the original Hooters founders. "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," Hooters Inc. CEO Neil Kiefer, speaking on behalf of the buying groups, said in the statement. "As we look toward the future, we are committed to restoring the Hooters brand back to its roots and simplifying [Hooter's of America's] operations by adopting a pure franchise model that will maximize the potential for sustainable, long-term growth." The bankruptcy filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Hooters is seeking approval of $40 million of debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders, including $35 million of new capital. As of this writing, it has acquired just $35 million from its existing lender group to help complete the bankruptcy transaction. The company expects to exit the proceedings in 90-120 days. Trending: Many are using retirement income calculators to check if they're on pace — "Our renowned Hooters restaurants are here to stay," Hooters of America CEO Sal Melilli said in the statement. "Today's announcement marks an important milestone in our efforts to reinforce Hooters' financial foundation and continue delivering the guest-obsessed hospitality experience and delicious food our customers and communities have come to expect. I've seen firsthand the incredible value and opportunities our brand brings to life, and I look forward to continuing that momentum well into the future." The iconic owl logo and flavorful wings might be here to stay, but the company's image will likely be receiving quite a facelift. In an interview last week with Bloomberg, Kiefer teased plans to make the restaurant chain more family friendly. The first things on the chopping block for the CEO are the iconic uniforms and gimmicks like Bikini Day. Hooters, which is owned by private-equity firms Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors, first revealed plans for a potential restructuring in February. Read Next: Have $200K saved?Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Hooters Files For Bankruptcy, Says Brand 'Isn't Going Anywhere' originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
