The restaurant chain Hooters declared bankruptcy after facing financial problems due to debts that they were unable to pay in recent years.
According to CNN, the company HOA Restaurant Group filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in the Northern Texas Federal Bankruptcy Court in the United States.
It was indicated that in the bankruptcy process, the company is looking to sell around 100 restaurants to two franchise groups operating in Tampa, Florida, and Chicago. The CNN report adds that the chain wants to continue operating, but as part of the process, some locations will be closed.
However, in a press release, a group of chain founders indicated that they are seeking for it to remain open and be able to resolve the debt in months. This is a group of original owners who have stakes in about half of the restaurants, and they plan to buy and operate the establishments.
“Our restaurants are here to stay and we are taking steps to strengthen our business and better serve our customers,” reads the statement published by several American media outlets.
In recent years, the company has faced several problems, including in 2017 when it tried to open a restaurant with waitresses who did not wear the tight clothing that identifies its servers, in an attempt to change its vision in response to the new times.
In 2024, an agreement was reached to pay $250,000 to settle a lawsuit for alleged racial discrimination filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the United States against an establishment in North Carolina.