Why This Once-Thriving Wing Chain Just Shuttered Several Locations

Some cities suddenly found themselves with one less place to get chicken wings over the weekend.

Multiple Hooters locations have been closed across the U.S.

Where Hooters Has Closed Restaurants?

Customers at several Hooters locations found their local restaurant closed down over the weekend. The company has not revealed an entire list of locations that were part of the most recent closings.

In Illinois, the Springfield Hooters is no longer in business. Texas was hit harder with multiple locations shutting down including the Hooters in Bryan and Wichita Falls.

An article posted by The U.S. Sun claims a total of 40 Hooters locations were permanently closed as of June 23.

Reason Behind Hooters Closing Restaurants

Hooters did not immediately release details about each of the locations, but a new report has shed some light on the closings.

Texomahomepage.com reached to the chain's corporate offices and found out Hooters may be suffering the same fate as other chains that have been hit hard by rising food and labor costs.

The website was told "like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores."

How Hooters Got To This Point

Hooters first opened in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida. The chain's website claims it was started when "six businessmen with no restaurant experience whatsoever got together to open a place they couldn't get kicked out of."

The Hooters brand quickly grew to what was once more than 400 locations across 29 countries thanks to its wings (and likely its somewhat revealing employee attire). At one point, there was even a Hooters-branded airline.

Unfortunately for the restaurant, it struggled in recent years with multiple under performing locations being closed. The Sun noted another location in Rhode Island was shutdown earlier this month.

The reasoning behind the most recent closings follows a trend among what were once big name chain restaurants that dominated the U.S.

Seafood giant Red Lobster has filed for bankruptcy as it also struggles to stay afloat. Other brands in the food industry closing locations in recent months include Pizza Hut, Hardees and Boston Market.