LAKELAND, Fla. — Hooters appears to be the latest restaurant chain to abruptly close dozens of locations across the U.S. And it's already affecting patrons in the Tampa Bay area.
The chicken wing chain suddenly closed its South Lakeland location on Sunday. As The News-Press reports, the restaurant on Florida Avenue S is said to be the second Hooters ever, having opened in 1984.
Listed as "permanently closed" online, Hooters South Lakeland has already been removed from the company's website and has an inactive Facebook page.
A letter circulating on social media appears to inform employees that their "employment is ending effective Sunday, June 23, 2024."
"Like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores including the Hooters of Lakeland...." the letter reads, in part. "We deeply regret that we were not able to give you notice."
The letter uses the same phrases that Hooters used in a statement provided to Nation's Restaurant News, which assures patrons that "this brand of 41 years remains highly resilient and relevant."
The Lakeland location is just one of about 40 Hooters restaurants closing across the U.S. this week, the restaurant publication reports. While the company has not shared a list of all the closures, dozens were reported in Kentucky, Texas and Florida.
The original Hooters, which opened in 1983 in Clearwater, has no known plans to close.
The news of the Hooters closures comes just about a month after Red Lobster, another chain that was started in the Tampa Bay area, abruptly shuttered the doors of dozens of its restaurants.
Other Florida-based chains that closed several locations this year include Outback Steakhouse and Tijuana Flats.