Hooters in Farmingdale, the last remaining location of the wing and sports bar chain on Long Island, will stay open amid national closures spurred by the restaurant's bankruptcy filing earlier this year. 

The wing spot, at 25 Smith St., is owned by a franchisee and is one of only three locations still in operation in the state. Recent closures of the chain have impacted only corporate-owned restaurants, not franchises like those in New York, a company spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. 

Other locations in East Meadow and in Islandia were closed in 2012 and 2013 following failed rebranding efforts by a different franchise owner, Newsday previously reported.

“Obviously, casual dining has seen some headwinds, but Hooters is a strong brand,” said Dan Gadbois, regional area supervisor for Hooters of New York/New England, a franchise owner of eight locations in the Northeast, including the state’s sites in Farmingdale, Fresh Meadows and Albany.

Gadbois, who has been with the franchise since 2013, said the Farmingdale store has performed well, had a “great football season” and has no plans to close.

“We’re excited to see what summer brings,” he said.

Hooters, which is not publicly traded, brought in sales of more than $677.9 million in 2024, a 15% decline from the previous year, according to estimates from Technomic, a restaurant industry research firm based in Chicago. 

Atlanta-based Hooters, founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 31.

The company, known for its all-female waitstaff, had run into financial woes as debts mounted. A collection of the company’s original founders that own almost a third of Hooters’ U.S. locations, including about half of its biggest volume restaurants, planned to buy and operate more of the outlets, Hooters said earlier this year.

Last week, the chain closed more than 30 corporate-owned restaurants around the country, including locations in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to reports from USA Today and CNN.

The chain lists 230 U.S. locations on its website.

"Hooters made the difficult decision to close certain company-owned locations, effective June 4, 2025," the company said in a statement issued to Newsday on Tuesday. "By optimizing our business in support of our long-term goals, Hooters will be well-positioned to continue our iconic legacy under a pure franchise business model."

David Henkes, senior principal and head of strategic partnerships at Technomic, said the Hooters bankruptcy falls in line with broader industry trends.

“As a whole, casual dining and full-service restaurants are really facing some personal financial and economic headwinds that are hard to overcome,” Henkes said. For Hooters, a combination of too much debt and the impacts of the pandemic have been major contributors to the brand's struggle.

“Private equity got involved and essentially loaded the concept with debt. Then the pandemic hit,” Henkes said. “That’s a lethal combination when you have a lot of debt and the bottom falls out of your business.”

Consumer behaviors have changed, too, with more customers opting for takeout or avoiding the increased cost of sit-down restaurants altogether, Henkes said.

“Consumers have changed so much over the last decade,” Gadbois said. “COVID changed people’s habits.”