JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Hooters restaurant in Tinseltown has closed, leaving only the original Jacksonville Hooters remaining open, according to our news partner Jax Daily Record.
The Hooters at 4521 Southside Blvd. closed June 4. The remaining Hooters is on Goodbys Creek at 8938 San Jose Blvd.
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Property records show the 6,430-square-foot Tinseltown restaurant, built in 1998, sits on 1.63 acres.
It is owned by MLE Restaurant Group LLC, which acquired it in 2005 for $1.75 million.
MLE Restaurant Group is headquartered in New York City and shares an address with Milton L Ehrlich Inc. It is managed by the Day Village Limited Partnership, also at the New York address.
Hooters declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. It has been closing corporately owned stores around the country.
The Orange Park restaurant at 1740 Wells Road closed in June 2024.
The Jacksonville closure was one of 30 around the country, according to USA Today. Among the closures was the downtown Atlanta location. Hooters’ corporate offices are in Atlanta. The two other Atlanta-area Hooters remain open.
In April, the Associated Press reported that Hooters planned to sell 100 company-owned restaurants in the U.S. to franchisees. The group, which includes Hooters’ founders, operates 14 of its top 30 best-performing locations.
“For many years now, the Hooters brand has been owned by private equity firms and other groups with no history or experience with the Hooters brand,” Neil Kiefer, CEO of the franchise group Hooters Inc., said in a statement in March.
“As a result of these transactions, the Hooters brand will once again be in the hands of highly experienced Hooters franchisees and we will be well-positioned to return this iconic brand to its historic success.”
Business Insider reported last month that wrestler and actor Hulk Hogan and his Real American Beer brand are considering purchasing Hooters’ intellectual property with the hope of selling Hooters-branded merchandise and menu items online or in other restaurants and retail locations.