Famous Wing Joint Closing Multiple Locations, Illinois Included

Another week, another popular chain restaurant abruptly shuts down multiple locations across the country (including here in Illinois) while claiming that everything is fine.

Alright, maybe not "fine," but according to a spokesperson, moves like this are done to protect the overall health of the company while expansion takes place in other markets.

That may indeed be the case, but we've heard that line from other chains that ended up going under or closing a lot more locations than they had originally stated they were going to.

Regardless, some locations are being already being closed, and more could be looking at the same fate.

Hooters Is Not The First Restaurant Chain To Suddenly Announce Closings This Year, And They Don't Seem Like They'll Be The Last

To put things into perspective, here's a partial list of the chains we've seen shutting down locations this year:

• Applebee's: Closed 33 locations in 2023, with a plan to close 25-35 more this year
• TGI Fridays: Announced in January they'd be closing 36 underperforming locations across the nation
• Denny's: Closed 57 locations in 2023, planning on 10-20 more this year
• Boston Market: At the start of 2023, there were 300 locations. Forbes reports that they're down to 27 now
• Red Lobster: After filing for bankruptcy last month, Red Lobster started closing up nearly 100 locations. Reports are the company is billions in debt and has less than $50 million in cash reserves
• Outback Steakhouse: 41 underperforming locations closed
• MOD Pizza: 26 underperforming locations were closed across the country in the first quarter of this year

Hooters Has Seen Store Locations Decline By 12% Since 2018

They've also confirmed that there are underperforming locations that are now being targeted for closure across the country, including Illinois.

According to Nation's Restaurant News, "Reports of abrupt closures in markets from Louisville, Kentucky, to Bryan, Texas, to Lakeland, Florida, began spreading Sunday evening. About 40 restaurants around the U.S. have been shuttered, according to local news reports."

Those locations have been removed from the Hooter's website, and listings mark the locations as being permanently closed.

The Majority Of The Hooter's Locations Being Closed Are In Texas And Florida

Texas and Florida are the states with the most Hooter's locations, with Texas having 55 at the beginning of the year, and Florida having 49.

Next comes Georgia, with 22. Then, it's Illinois with 17.

I guess we could call it 16 locations now, because at this point in time only 1 Illinois location has been closed (or soon will be), and that one is in Springfield.

There may be more Illinois closings to follow, but that's unclear for the moment since Hooter's has not released a master list of their planned store closings.