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Source: Grant Lamos IV / Getty / Hooters
Welp, it looks like your going to have to get your fill of beer, boobs, and wings elsewhere pretty soon because it might be a wrap for your local Hooters establishment.
According to Bloomberg News, the restaurant franchise best known for dressing its servers in skimpy orange shorts and tiny tops that give patrons beer, wings, and a side of boobs is on the verge of going belly-up.
According to the website, the casual dining chain has engaged in talks with law firm Ropes & Gray to begin the bankruptcy process, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.
No final decision has been made regarding seeking Chapter 11 protection, but according to sources, it could all happen within the next two months.
Hooters’ financial problems aren’t new; they have been going on for some time, with the company actively seeking a way to become profitable again.
Per The New York Post:
Hooters — which has about 300 locations nationwide — has faced increasing financial strain as traffic declines at its kitschy restaurants, leading to the closure of several outposts.
The Atlanta-based company has been working alongside turnaround consultants from Accordion Partners to address its financial difficulties, particularly its debt burden.
Several of its creditors have also sought guidance from investment bank Houlihan Lokey, Bloomberg reported.
The Post has sought comment from Hooters, Accordion Partners, Ropes & Gray and Houlihan Lokey.
The company had previously raised approximately $300 million through asset-backed bonds in 2021, a financing structure that allows businesses to use franchise fees and other assets as collateral.
This form of structured debt, known as whole-business securitization, is commonly used by restaurant chains, fitness centers and other franchise-heavy enterprises.
X Reacts To Hooters Possibly Being Shuttered
Social media, of course, has thoughts on the possibility of Hooters going away for good.
“How bad is the economy when strippers are complaining about empty clubs & low/no tips, and Hooters is filing for bankruptcy? This is all the proof you need something needs to change,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter, which honestly puts some much needed perspective on the current state of things.
Another user celebrated the chain’s apparent downfall and pointed out racism she experienced as an employee writing on X, “good, when i was 20 y/o i quit hooters because corporate emailed our manager and said it was too many black girls working there.”
Welp.
Hooters is not the only restaurant chain experiencing hard times lately. TGI Fridays had to cede control of some assets due to failing to fulfill debt obligations, and everyone’s favorite seafood restaurant, Red Lobster, also filed for bankruptcy in May. Flavor Flav did his part to prevent Red Lobster from further sinking into the bankruptcy abyss by becoming a pitchman and purchasing the entire menu.
We don’t think Hooters will have the same luck, but who knows, maybe somebody loves seeing boobies and eating wings as much as Flavor Flav loved cheddar bay biscuits.
More reactions to Hooters mulling Chapter 11 bankruptcy are in the gallery below.
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty / Redbox
Redbox and Crackle’s parent company, Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to pay workers and vendors for the past four weeks.
Spotted on Variety, the company filed a petition for bankruptcy on June 28 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
In the filing, Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment listed total debts of $970 million and consolidated assets of $414 million as of March 31, 2024.
The entertainment company reported $4.9 million in cash and equivalents, including $4.6 million of restricted cash.
Per Variety:
Creditors listed on CSSE’s bankruptcy include Universal Studios Home Entertainment (which is owed $16.7 million) as well as Universal City Studios Productions ($16.7 million), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment ($9.1 million), BBC Studios Americas ($9 million), Walgreens ($5 million), Lionsgate ($4.6 million), Walmart ($4.1 million), Vizio ($2.75 million), Warner Bros. Home Entertainment ($2 million), and Paramount Pictures ($1.96 million) and Paramount Home Entertainment ($1.2 million).
As of the date of the bankruptcy filing, Chicken Soup for the Soul said it had about 836 full-time employees and 197 part-time employees (1,033 total). In a court filing, the company estimated that it owes employees approximately $3.52 million in unpaid wages and also is obligated to pay $2.24 million in health and welfare benefits and $594,204 toward workers’ 401(k) plans. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment disclosed that it was “unable to make payroll for the two-week period ending on June 14, 2024.”
The website also reports that CEO Bill Rouhana Jr. (who owns 79% of the voting power represented in its outstanding common stock) said in a June 11, 2024, SEC filing that the company had dissolved its board of directors.
Rouhanan would step down on June 24, bankruptcy documents revealed.
Right now, Redbox is still operating; it will be interesting to see if the company shutters due to its parent company’s financial woes.
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