Hooters says it is not closing for a millennial-friendly rebrand

CLAIM: Hooters is shutting down and rebranding.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. A spokesperson for the restaurant chain told The Associated Press that this claim has “no validity” and that its concept “is here to stay.” The posts are misrepresenting a 2017 article that discussed some U.S. locations closing between 2012 and 2016, as well as changes the company made to its menu and decor more than a decade ago and a spin-off concept that opened in 2017.

THE FACTS: A misleading claim spread on social media that Hooters, the restaurant famous for its scantily-clad waitresses, is shutting down and rebranding due to changing millennial tastes.

“Hooters is shutting down and ‘rebranding,’” one tweet read in part, attributing the alleged move to a study that showed millennials are not interested in breasts. The tweet had received nearly 57,000 likes and more than 18,000 shares as of Wednesday evening.

Another popular tweet with the same claim received more than 5,500 likes and more than 1,000 shares.

But Stephen Brown, a Hooters spokesperson, told The Associated Press that the casual dining chain has no plans to change up its image.

“There is no validity to this story,” he wrote in an email. “Guests are enjoying this week’s televised sports events at our restaurants across the country and around the world in record numbers, accompanied by craveable menu items, cold beer and iconic hospitality. Our concept is here to stay.”

The company also refuted the claim via one of its Twitter accounts, tweeting: “this is the fakest news that has ever newsed.”

In a follow-up post, the Twitter account that first spread the false claim on Wednesday cited an August 2017 article from Complex, which discussed some locations closing and menu changes in prior years, but did not say the entire chain was closing nor rebranding as the posts suggest.

The Complex article discussed a report that there had been a 7 percent drop in Hooters locations from 2012 to 2016. It also noted that the chain updated its menus and decor in 2012 “in an attempt to attract younger patrons and female customers,” and earlier that year had opened a new chain called Hoots, which features Hooters’ popular chicken wings without waitresses in tight tops.

The article simultaneously discussed a then-new study from Pornhub that found its millennial users were less likely to search for breast-related terms.

But while the article tied the two things together, the study had nothing to do with the restaurant, nor the changes that had been made before its release.