Hooters Declares Bankruptcy, and the Internet Responds with Pure Chaos

Well, it finally happened. After decades of serving wings, beer, and an overwhelming amount of orange spandex, Hooters has announced it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Apparently, Gen Z just isn’t buying what they’re selling—literally. Turns out, in an era where you can get food, entertainment, and even spicier content delivered straight to your phone, the old “come for the wings, stay for the cleavage” business model isn’t exactly thriving. Naturally, the internet has responded the only way it knows how: with an absolute flood of Hooters bankruptcy memes roasting the downfall of America’s most bizarre sports bar.

The Internet Mourns… Sort of

While some are genuinely sad to see Hooters struggling, most of Twitter (or X, if we’re still pretending to call it that) has been busy making jokes at the restaurant’s expense. One of the top Hooters memes floating around simply features a tombstone reading “RIP Hooters: 1983 – 2025. Gone, but never fully clothed.” Another viral post had a side-by-side image of a traditional Hooters waitress and a skeleton covered in cobwebs, captioned: “Hooters waiting for Gen Z to show up.”

Meanwhile, some fans are deeply concerned about the future of the iconic Hooters uniform. One tweet read: “Where are all the rejected Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders gonna work now??” Another user speculated that “The real tragedy of Hooters closing is that we’ll never see AI-generated business casual Hooters outfits.”

The Internet’s ‘Genius’ Ideas to Save Hooters

Of course, the best Hooters bankruptcy memes have been the ridiculous suggestions for how to rebrand the restaurant to appeal to younger generations. One of the most popular ideas? Turning it into a goth-themed version called Spookers, where the servers trade their bright orange shorts for fishnets and black lipstick while serving “crypt-keeper crispy tenders.” Another proposed rebrand, Doomers, would lean into the existential dread of modern times, offering free therapy sessions with every order of boneless wings.

And then there’s Knockers, an idea that imagines Hooters pivoting into a door-to-door delivery service. One meme showed a Hooters delivery driver knocking on someone’s door, with the caption: “Hooters couldn’t save the restaurant, but they could bring the wings (and other things) straight to your house.” Another proposed simply changing the restaurant’s model to “Guy Hooters,” where shirtless men serve the wings instead—though, considering Gen Z’s overall disinterest in the original concept, that probably wouldn’t work either.

Hooters Memes: The Last Great Legacy of the Restaurant

While it’s unclear if Hooters will actually survive its financial struggles, one thing is certain: Hooters memes are thriving. Whether or not the restaurant manages to rebrand, the internet has already immortalized it in the best way possible—by making an absolute mockery of the situation. At the end of the day, even if Hooters disappears from the strip mall landscape, at least we’ll always have the memes.