(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) Hooters announced it is ending its long running “Bikini Nights” in hopes of appealing to families.
As the company is on verge of bankruptcy, the CEO of parent company HMC Hospitality Group Neil Kiefer decided to try to rebrand the iconic chain, according to Bloomberg.
“I’m calling it re-Hooterization,” he told the outlet.
He added that Hooters is frowned upon in certain areas of the United States.
“You go to some parts of the country and people say, ‘Oh I could never go to Hooters, my wife would kill me,”’ Kiefer said. “That’s depressing to us. We want to change that.”
The restaurant is known for its iconic bright orange shorts and its revealing tank tops.
Hooters but the girls look like they work at Hooters https://t.co/sLommzDs4P pic.twitter.com/kIZKkDsMS7
— stepfanie tyler (@wildbarestepf) April 1, 2025
Aaron Allen, a restaurant industry analyst, cited the rise of what he called “eatertainment.”
“For a business to be successful and sustainable, it helps to appeal to more than just men,” Allen said.
Kiefer said he plans on making the restaurants focus on three key areas, better good, customer service and regular reinvestment in the restaurants’ operation.
“There’s a noticeable difference,” he told the outlet. “The food’s different, the service is different — I hope to correct it all.”
He said he wants to focus on fresher ingredients and used switching to real butter as one example.
In June 2024, Hooters shut down around 40 locations, according to the Daily Mail.
“What was novel in the 1980s is a legacy business today,” Mark Kalinowski, a chief executive officer of restaurant-investing advisory firm, told Bloomberg. “You’ve seen quick service and fast-casual taking market share from casual dining.”
Hooters has been around for over 40 years with the first one opening in Clearwater, Florida in 1983.
