r/wallstreetbets • u/JadedAsparagus9639 • 5d ago

News Hooters files for bankruptcy

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/31/business/hooters-restaurant-bankruptcy?cid=ios_app
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1.1k

u/XDingoX83 5d ago

Another victim of private equity.

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u/elon42069 5d ago

Buffalo Wild Wings next. Quality went to shit and restaurants are emptier than they used to be

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u/rslashplate 5d ago

I’ve been on this for a while. Pre Covid (like 2014-2018) they were blowing up and keeping a good reputation. Around 2019/2020 it went DRAMATICALLY down hill imo. Like every local one across the northeast started being terrible food, terrible service, would never consider ordering delivery etc.

The 3 I frequented the most across 3 states have all closed. 2 being in really really good areas. One being in a highly competitive market with great location.

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u/PlasticCraken 5d ago

It was a wild shift. I can remember when they were the best wings you could find, now they’re bottom tier it seems like.

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u/pickle_pickled 5d ago

Their best years were all you can eat Wednesdays. The place was literally standing room only drinking beers watching sports til you could get a table for 8-10.

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u/rslashplate 4d ago

Yeah the 10-20 cent wings were a bargain driver for sure in college

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u/warfrogs 5d ago

I can remember when they were the best wings you could find

I mean - BWW has been around Minneapolis since the 90s after they moved their corporate headquarters to the cities.

They weren't even the best wings you could find in Minneapolis. Maaaaaaybe top 3 back then arguably. They were just solid, cheap, and consistent. Now they're none of the above.

Had a friend who managed one through 2018 or so and even she commented on how quickly the quality has gone down.

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u/Soggy-Reason1656 5d ago

I’d argue that Buffalo Wild Wings was the best in the entire metro just based on their success introducing the concept of eating chicken to Minnesotans.

Minneapolis people that have never left Minneapolis but still want to compare their food culture to other places (whom you may or may not be) have no handle on how abnormal the Minnesota diet can actually be. There are small towns in bordering states that have more fried chicken joints than the entire Twin Cities - thousands of them actually.

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u/warfrogs 5d ago

Runyons absolutely blows BW3 out of the water. And it's not close. They've been here longer as well, but they don't aspire to be a large chain.

I really don't know what you mean by "introduced eating chicken" to MN. Runyon's opened before BW3 was here and they still use the same OG wing sauce.

So, we don't have a big wing scene - that absolutely does not mean that we don't have good spots. That's just like saying we don't have good bbq - according to family and friends from the Carolinas, Texas, and KC - they've all been pleasantly surprised with some of the hole-in-the-wall spots that are out there.

If you're conflating mass appeal and popularity with quality - McDonald's is a thing. I wouldn't say they make the best burger in any market.

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u/joshjamon 4d ago

Once they shifted from having orders with the number of wings listed as numbers turning into concepts instead of 8 wings it was listed as "snack " I knew it was gonna be ruined. Stopped going after that, they used to be one of my favorite spots.

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u/ConversationBig7204 4d ago

Them and Wing Stop are absolute garbage.

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u/galagapilot 4d ago

Wing Stop is straight trash.

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u/AndThisGuyPeedOnIt low test soygirl 5d ago

Had it for the first time in at least a couple years recently and it was terrible (and the place was empty during March Madness). 

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u/Plus_Jellyfish_633 5d ago

Worst waitress I have ever had in my life was at Buffalo Wild Wings in 2024. I almost went off on her in front of everyone. Left no tip, first time I have ever done that.

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u/FermFoundations 4d ago

I tried it once about 15 years ago in Maryland and it was terrible

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u/jayydubbya 5d ago

Their wings were always ass but they used to have good fried mushrooms. Once they got rid of those I’ve never been back.

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u/Velvache 3d ago

They also charge a metric fuck ton for sub par food. It’s a sports bar first and restaurant second. When no one comes for either what’s the point.

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u/Neutropix 3d ago

The one locally in Bentonville Arkansas is utter trash. It's the only one in a pretty decent radius. Our food took 2 fucking hours to arrive about a month ago.

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u/ositola 5d ago

They should rebrand into a sports bar that serves food instead of a wings place where you can also watch games, their food isn't good enough to be at the fore front of the marketing

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u/D4nCh0 5d ago

There was a Planet Hollywood knock-off in Beijing. Lined wall to wall with Russian hookers. I think that concept might work in USA too.

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u/HillarysFloppyChode 5d ago

Call it the Oval Office

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u/3ckSm4rk57h35p07 5d ago

Was gonna say the RNC

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u/sane_drops 5d ago edited 5d ago

But they need the femboy hooters like thingy whatever to make it accurate lol

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u/2ndtryagain 5d ago

I think they'll need some leather daddies as well.

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u/sane_drops 5d ago

Yeah one for Lady G

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u/vim_deezel 5d ago

And Piss Mamas for those golden mango showers.

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u/Volunteer-Magic 5d ago

Was gonna say the RNC

Seeing as how Grindr crashed because of an over abundance of activity during RNCs, they are more of a dick and balls crowd.

Which, there’s nothing wrong with. It’s just that OnlyFans and shit like that don’t crash during RNCs

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u/spacegh0stX 5d ago

I’m listening

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u/D4nCh0 5d ago

How much more of a franchise plan do you need? Go source for hot Russian hookers. The men are sunflower fertiliser. Remember to cut me 5% for franchising fees.

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u/Kanibalector 5d ago

I remember going to a planet Hollywood in Hong Kong. That was a very surreal experience..

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u/-Gramsci- 5d ago

Agree. Dim the lights. Darts/pool table at every location… just be a decent bar with kinda crummy food and they can survive.

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u/TheKappaOverlord 5d ago

The problem is that a good percentage of their locations already do this.

So even if they made this change..... they changed nothing for the most part.

Food still sucks, but i can get a long island iced tea for $9.

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u/sailphish 4d ago

That’s the issue with these wing places… how the fuck are you a wing place if your wings suck. Like you had one job to do.

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u/Eh-I 4d ago

their food isn't good enough to be at the fore front of the marketing

hides my corndog covered in nacho-cheese idea

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u/Budget-Ocelots 5d ago

Wings are more expensive than a steak at any casual restaurant. With this economy, even McD is unaffordable for 35% of Americans.

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u/vim_deezel 5d ago

If you're willing to drink water with your meal the McD has some pretty good deals actually shrug. I mean it is fast food tho, I don't expect wagyu beef

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u/Dead_Starks 5d ago

They have a $1 menu with nothing fucking on it. Any restaurant that has to sell my data thru some app I have to use to get good deals instead of just being a patron and driving up to the store can fuck all the way off.

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u/Blowmeuhoe 5d ago

This👆👆👆went to a hooters about 5 years ago. Quality was shit. Girls were fat, food sucked, and the concept was dead even back then couldn’t have been more than 6 patrons in the place just outside a fairly affluent area of NJ. good riddance. 

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u/long_don0van 5d ago

NJ was the first to fall, I lived there a while and the average bar is the size of a Walmart and had their staff in a more revealing version of the hooters ensemble with better prices and more TVs. I’d assume they were only doing well in lower population areas and then fucked up their formula on top of that. Add every 3rd person you meet being an onlyfans girl and their formula went tits up.

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u/Danoco99 5d ago

tits up

heh

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u/J--E--F--F 5d ago

Wait they have fat girls now? Might have to find the closest one

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u/Blowmeuhoe 4d ago

The place I went to in NJ all the waitresses I saw which I counted two. Were overweight, didn’t have particularly large boobs, and generally we’re not that attractive. The bartender was a heifer. Add on top of that the food sucked and the atmosphere was dead and it had the making of a terrible experience. Let’s put this way, that last visit was enough for me to not want to go back to Hooters and now I can’t. No loss as far as I am concerned. 

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u/daadnn 4d ago

>girls were fat

a weird case of shrinkflation

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u/Blowmeuhoe 3d ago

I figured the waitresses were eating all of Hooters profits! 

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u/dotme 5d ago

I ordered boneless wings 12 years ago. I still hate myself for that.

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u/No-Worldliness-3344 4d ago

It's time to forgive yourself. We all make terrible mistakes

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u/BoomsRevenge 5d ago

BW3 is absolute garbage. Nothing about that place is inviting.

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u/HillarysFloppyChode 5d ago

Blue Waffles 3?

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u/BoomsRevenge 5d ago

The original name- Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck

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u/brandon520 5d ago

Back when it was great. Late 2000s.

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u/ieatplaydough2 5d ago edited 5d ago

There was a Buffalo Wild Wings & Wash in my university town. '96 - '02... Normal sit-down restaurant size, but had a divider wall splitting the interior approximately 70/30 where the 30% contained banks of coin-operated washers and dryers. Was an amazing place as a student doing laundry and going across thru one of the doors and having beer and food while you waited.

Edit: They even had numbered lights above the bar that would let you know which numbered machine was actively running or finished. You could finish that wing, wash your hands, then run over to the other side to toss them in the dryer, then go back to your seat.

Just awesome.

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u/arseniic_ 4d ago

Interesting. TIL.

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u/Snakestream 5d ago

BDubs has been shit for so long that it's a miracle they're still open. Last time I went was back in 2016 and I still remember the wings being overcooked garbage.

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u/Ocinea 5d ago

Shit. Was B Dubs bought by PE?

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u/TheChewyWaffles 5d ago

Yep

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u/Ocinea 5d ago

Damn.  Their lunch special is on point.  The one near where I live is really on point too.

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u/vim_deezel 5d ago

enjoy it while you can, when the PE corps get their hands on shit they cut and cut and cut until the quality is just good enough that nostalgia will keep people coming in.

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u/Novasagooddog 5d ago

Buffalo cold food

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u/ducbaobao 5d ago

And I thought I am the only one complaining about their quality online. The wings are dried and they there barely any buffalo sauce on the wings

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u/joebonama 5d ago

Been shit a long time.

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u/l3ane 5d ago

I think it depends on location. I was in Boise ID recently and went to BWW and it was slammed on a tuesday night because it's right near the university.

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u/chili01 5d ago

I was wondering what happened. They were kinda good/ok when they first opened near my place.

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u/OtherwiseAlbatross14 5d ago

I went there a few months ago for the first time in years and the most memorable thing about it was how empty it was. Literally like 3 tables had customers including ours at like 7pm.

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u/gravybang 5d ago

The BWW near me is in a mall next to a movie theater and several restaurants that are always packed. Meanwhile, during the NCAA games last weekend BWW couldn’t even fill the bar area. That place is doomed.

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u/DervishSkater 5d ago

They just opened up a satellite store, bwww to go. It’s a small storefront with take out only.

PE already doing its thing

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u/elon42069 5d ago

Yep, I’ve seen some of those here in Texas. Pei Wei has a few locations like that too. I miss the America that had a fucking buffet at Pizza Hut…now everything is meant to be DoorDashed

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u/brownhotdogwater 5d ago

I get the shits every time I eat there

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u/Red_Bullion 5d ago

It costs like $100 to go to Buffalo Wild Wings now, it's crazy lol. I like wings but I prefer idk sushi. Or how about a whole chicken. It's fucking chicken wings. I don't understand what they're doing.

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u/VeganShitposting 5d ago

I'm actually amazed at how some of my favorite childhood restaurants are now getting away with selling what is basically school cafeteria food. Like I shouldn't be able to recognize what poverty brand of bun y'all used for my brisket sandwich, I could just make it at home

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u/Soggy-Reason1656 5d ago

I had to kill some time the other day so popped into my local one and thought I had accidentally walked in before they’d opened. No one at the host stand, no visible customers, and the bartender fully ignoring me despite the minimum head count.

And then all the deals are app-bound like it’s a McDonald’s so that they can scrape data or whatever so I download the app and show the coupon I found to the bartender and he treats me like I’m the asshole for not wanting to pay half as much for my food.

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u/dataluvr 5d ago

I had sworn off bww and I went in recently because I was craving wings and wanted to watch the game. I got to the bar. Sat there for about 10 seconds and then had to leave because it felt so dirty and disgusting in there. It’s insanely awful. I’m never going back

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u/Zombies4EvaDude 4d ago

They need to lower wing prices more.

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u/jariuana 4d ago

Bdubs has been a joke for over 15 years now.

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u/dudemanjack 4d ago

When was their quality good?

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u/xMCioffi1986x 4d ago

It's one of those places where my brain does a hard reset every few months or so and forgets how crappy it is now. Portion sizes suck, the food quality has gone seriously downhill, and everything is comically over-salted. Wait times for food are also crazy.

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u/elon42069 4d ago

Dude I get more fun out of buying their bottled sauce at the grocery store and making my own wings at home

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u/xMCioffi1986x 4d ago

Do you find that they're the same as in the restaurant? I know that with Taco Bell, some of their bottled sauces are clearly not what's offered in the restaurant and they just slapped the Taco Bell name on it.

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u/elon42069 4d ago

BWW sauce is pretty spot on

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u/xMCioffi1986x 4d ago

That's good to hear. The Chick-fil-A sauces are also spot on.

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u/Timely_Discount2135 4d ago

Please don’t say that…

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u/prules 4d ago

Haven’t been there in years, the food and service were always terrible. Wild wings sucked before PE as far as I’m aware…

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u/verugan 4d ago

For me it was when you could no longer get an 8 piece, 12 piece, etc... it was Small, Medium and Large. Still trying to wrap my head around that one. "How many wings in the Medium size?" Server has no idea. I get that it's by weight, but c'mon.

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u/Sunny1-5 5d ago

Bullshit. I never go to Buffalo Wild Wings, but the one in Fort Walton Beach, FL (not a bastion of culture) is never NOT packed out.

Mid food, worse service, and meth for staff.