Hooters, the iconic restaurant and bar chain, is continuing to shrink its footprint even after emerging from bankruptcy, with another location now closed and several states losing their remaining locations this year.
The latest closure marks another setback for a chain that has spent much of the past two years restructuring its business and reducing the number of restaurants it operates nationwide.
Founded in 1983, Hooters is an American restaurant and sports bar chain known for its chicken wings and all-female waitstaff known as “Hooters Girls.”
Despite its distinctive branding, Hooters has long attracted a broad customer base, but some consumers will now have fewer nearby options to visit, if any.
Hooters closes its final Jacksonville restaurant
Hooters has closed its last remaining location in Jacksonville, Florida, ending the brand’s presence in the city after decades of serving local customers.
The restaurant at 8938 San Jose Boulevard shut down earlier in October, according to local reporting. The closure also marks the end of Hooters’ presence in northeast Florida and adds to a growing list of locations that have closed in recent months.
The closure was confirmed by two signs posted on the restaurant’s front doors. One stated that the San Jose Hooters had permanently closed, while the other was an official Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation notice stating that the establishment had been closed “to protect public health and safety,” New4JAX reported.
The Jacksonville restaurant remained listed on Hooters’ website as of Oct. 7, 2026, despite the location having shut down.
Why Hooters closed its last Jacksonville location
The sign posted at the Jacksonville restaurant did not provide a specific reason for the restaurant’s permanent closure.
However, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued a temporary closure order following a Sept. 29 routine inspection that cited three high-priority, two intermediate, and five basic violations.
Among the violations cited by the department were:
- The presence of insects, rodents, or other pests.
- Evidence of rodent activity, including rodent droppings.
- Food being held without the required time marking under the establishment’s written time-as-a-public-health-control procedure.
The department’s inspection records also show additional violations from previous inspections, although corrective actions were taken to address those issues.
The inspection findings provide context for the restaurant’s temporary closure, but Hooters has not publicly stated that the inspection was the reason the restaurant ultimately closed permanently.
Hooters’ bankruptcy and restaurant closures
Hooters of America, LLC and 29 affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in March 2025.
The company cited between $376 million and $380 million in funded debt, along with financial pressures including inflation, higher food and labor costs, and declining consumer spending.
At the time of the filing, Hooters operated 151 company-owned locations, while another 154 restaurants were operated by franchisees, primarily in the U.S.
The company received approval for $40 million of debtor-in-possession financing from certain of its existing lenders, including $35 million of new capital to keep its restaurants operating during the bankruptcy proceedings.
Hooters emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late October 2025, with its remaining locations becoming franchisee-owned as part of the restructuring, according to a company announcement.
The restructuring also resulted in the closure of numerous corporate-owned restaurants across multiple states as the company worked to reduce costs and stabilize its business.
“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,” Hooters CEO Neil Kiefer told Fox News during the restructuring.
The chain’s footprint has continued to contract in 2026. According to Usearch‘s compiled data on Hooters closures, the company closed at least 55 restaurants in 2026, including its remaining locations in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota.
Those closures have resulted in Hooters exiting several states entirely, further reducing the chain’s physical presence even after it completed its bankruptcy restructuring.
The Jacksonville closure represents another example of that ongoing contraction, leaving customers in the area without a nearby Hooters and ending the chain’s long-standing presence in northeast Florida.
Restaurant chains are continuing to shrink their footprints
Hooters is among several restaurant brands that have reduced their footprints in 2026, with some closing individual locations and others shutting down their remaining restaurants in certain markets.
Here’s some of my previous coverage on other restaurant closures:
- Golden Corral: The buffet chain has closed at least six restaurants across six states.
- On The Border Cantina Mexican Grill & Cantina: The Mexican restaurant chain closed all remaining locations in June after being purchased by Pappas Restaurant Group out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- State Fare Kitchen & Bar: The Houston-based restaurant chain closed two of its three restaurants, leaving just one remaining location.
- O’Charley’s: The restaurant chain closed all company-owned restaurants nationwide in September after 55 years.
Related: All-you-can-eat buffet chain shuts down restaurants after decades
