Global "breastaurant" chain Hooters is closing up shop in Mission Valley later this month, leaving just one lonely outpost standing in all of San Diego County.
Founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983, Hooters became a cultural icon by blending sports bar staples like chicken wings and beer with a provocative service model centered around its signature "Hooters Girls." The chain expanded rapidly across the United States and abroad, peaking at more than 400 locations worldwide. In San Diego, Hooters once maintained outposts downtown, in Rancho Bernardo, Oceanside, Pacific Beach, and Plaza Bonita, though all eventually closed amid declining traffic and shifting consumer preferences.
The brand’s downturn has been years in the making. In early 2025, Hooters of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas after years of mounting debt, falling sales, and an eroding customer base. Court filings revealed plans to sell off more than 100 company-owned restaurants to franchisees in an effort to stabilize the brand. Yet even as the company insisted it was "here to stay," dozens of locations abruptly closed nationwide, including several high-volume restaurants across the South and Midwest.
Hooters' bankruptcy is part of a larger shake-up in the casual dining sector, where rising costs, new competition, and changing cultural attitudes have squeezed legacy chains. The "breastaurant" model that Hooters pioneered in the 1980s has not aged well in the 21st century, with younger diners often rejecting the overtly sexualized uniforms and outdated atmosphere. In recent years, the chain attempted to reinvent itself with new uniforms, fresher menus, and even spin-off concepts like Hoots Wings, but these efforts failed to recapture its former popularity.
With the Mission Valley closure, San Diego residents interested in what remains of the Hooters experience will have to head north to San Marcos. And for those still drawn to this style of hospitality, a new competitor has already arrived in the South Bay: Ojos Locos Sports Cantina, a Texas-based chain often dubbed the "Mexican Hooters," opened its first San Diego location in Chula Vista last year, bringing its own blend of scantily clad servers, sports programming, and casual fare.
The closure of Mission Valley underscores how far Hooters has fallen from its peak. Once a novel blend of wings, beer, and spectacle, the chain is increasingly being left behind in an era that favors more inclusive, innovative, and less gimmicky dining experiences.
Originally published on August 21, 2025.
