Closure of Hooters’ Last Jacksonville Location

Hooters has officially closed its last restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, which marks another loss for the brand as it navigates through ongoing closures following its bankruptcy restructuring.

According to local sources, the Hooters on San Jose Boulevard has shut its doors permanently after four decades of service in Jacksonville.

This location, which first opened in 1986, stood as the sole remaining Hooters in the Jacksonville area, as reported by WJXT-TV.

With its closure, Hooters now lacks any restaurants in northeast Florida, leaving a notable gap in the chain’s presence in its home state.

The closest Hooters on Florida’s Atlantic coast is now located in Daytona Beach, based on the company’s restaurant locator.

While Hooters confirmed the closure to Fox News Digital, they did not provide further details.

Jacksonville isn’t an isolated case, as other longstanding Hooters locations in Florida have also recently shut down.

For instance, the Hooters in Panama City Beach closed its doors in September after over 30 years in operation, according to a Facebook announcement.

This leaves Pensacola Beach as the only remaining Hooters in the Florida Panhandle.

Additionally, a Hooters in Hickory, North Carolina, closed in late September after many years of business, a report from the US Sun noted.

These recent closures follow the earlier shutdown of the Boca Raton Hooters, which had a significant social media presence, closing in February after 16 years when the landlord chose not to renew the lease.

This closure also contributed to a considerable gap along Florida’s Atlantic coast, as there are now no Hooters locations between Fort Lauderdale and West Melbourne—a pretty striking distance of about 150 miles.

The string of closures can be traced back to Hooters’ restructuring efforts after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025, largely due to mounting debts and shifts in consumer preferences.

After a change in ownership in Clearwater, Florida, which originally established the Hooters concept in 1983, the chain began closing dozens of locations across various states as part of its restructuring.

In June 2025, Hooters announced it would be closing a “select number” of restaurants, acknowledging that these decisions are “never easy.”

Emerging from bankruptcy, Hooters has shifted its business strategy towards a predominantly franchise-operated model, aiming to return to its foundational principles.

According to CEO Neil Kiefer, the brand had become too focused on oversexualization, and there’s a desire to focus on food and hospitality—broadening its appeal to families and younger patrons rather than focusing on a less inclusive atmosphere.

Even amid restructuring, individual Hooters restaurants continue to close in 2026.

For instance, the Fayetteville, North Carolina location that opened in 1994 shut down in May, while the Mall of America Hooters in Minnesota closed its doors in March after 33 years.

On a brighter note, Hooters has opened a new location in Florida and has plans for at least one more. The Villages location, a retirement community located about 45 miles northwest of Orlando, celebrated its grand opening in July 2025, marking the first new restaurant since the bankruptcy restructuring.

Additionally, a new location in Lutz, near Tampa, is on the way, according to updates from the Hooters website.