So-called "breastaurant" chain Hooters will close two more Georgia restaurants little more seven months after it was acquired out of bankruptcy by a group of its original founders. The two upcoming closures will take place at the close of normal business Sunday, May 24.
The two restaurants slated for closure are located in Roswell and Newnan.
In Roswell Hooters is located at 795 Holcomb Bridge Road where it occupies an endcap of a multi-tenant strip center. The Hooters closing in Newnan occupies a freestanding building at 1001 Bullsboro Drive just off I-85 and in front of Walmart and Hobby Lobby.
Hooters was established in Clearwater, Florida in 1983, but later relocated its headquarters to metro Atlanta. At its peak, the chain had more than 430 restaurants across 42 states and 29 countries. Today there are about 250 locations worldwide.
The company closed about 40 locations in June 2024 including Georgia units in Hiram, McDonough, and Brunswick, where a ground-up restaurant debuted June 17, 2019. The company also closed its Hoots Wings by Hooters (originally Hoot's Righteous Wings) at Madison Yards in Reynoldstown.
Hooters of America, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025. Last June, the company closed more than 30 restaurants around the country, including Georgia units in Downtown Atlanta, Duluth, Douglasville and Valdosta.
This past July the chain also closed its restaurants along Cobb Parkway at Akers Mill Square near Cumberland Mall and along Washington Road in Augusta, not far from Augusta National Golf Club.
In recent months, the original owners (dba Hooters Inc.) have acquired roughly 140 locations with plans to “re-Hooterize” the brand. The effort is led by Neil Kiefer, who was once the founders’ lawyer and is now the company's chief executive. Kiefer aims to return Hooters to what he describes as its core identity — "a casual place with a family-friendly vibe."
The New York Times this week published an extensive article - Hooters Says Bring The Kids - detailing the brand's efforts to attract families and clean up its image. (The photos in the article seem to resemble scenes from Fuddruckers in its heyday more than Hooters of yesteryear.)
Following the Roswell and Newnan closures, Hooters will operate just five locations in Georgia including metro Atlanta restaurants on Old Highway 41 in Kennesaw and Mall of Georgia Boulevard outside the Mall of Georgia in Buford.
Are you surprised to see Hooters close its Roswell and Newnan restaurants? What would you like to see open in place of the Roswell and Newnan Hooters once they close? Would you feel comfortable taking you family to Hooters?
Please share your thoughts below.
1 comment:
Not surprised to see Hooters closed anywhere. It is a sexist, demeaning, third rate hash house frequented most by middle aged men in polyester shirts. No place for families. Efforts to improve are appriciated but there is a lot to overcome.
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