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New York City has officially lost its final Hooters. The last remaining location in the five boroughs—in Fresh Meadows, Queens—quietly closed its doors late February, ending the chain’s long run in the city and leaving New Yorkers without a single place to grab wings under the brand’s famously orange-and-white banner.
The restaurant confirmed the news in a farewell post on Instagram, writing: “The lights dim. The fryers go silent. The last plate of wings has been served. Farewell to Hooters of Fresh Meadows—a Queens legend where icons were loud, the games were intense and the memories were unforgettable. An era ends. A chapter closes.”
For some locals, the closure came as a surprise. The restaurant had reportedly been promoting a boxing watch party just days before it shut down.
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On social media, neighborhood residents reacted with a mix of nostalgia and disbelief. One commenter wrote that the news was “heartbreaking,” while another joked that without the restaurant, “we don’t have restaurants with gimmicks anymore.” A third wondered where “all the old men gonna go to get out of the house now.”
The Fresh Meadows location had been part of the neighborhood since 2009, though its history included a brief detour when the building temporarily became a Miller’s Ale House, then returned to the Hooters brand a few years later. The site itself has an even older New York story. Before it became a Hooters, the building housed the Future Diner, which the New York Post noted was once a campaign stop during Bill Clinton’s presidential run, where he ordered a turkey club.
The closure also comes amid broader struggles for the national chain. Hooters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025 and later closed dozens of corporate-owned restaurants across the country. Sales have also been declining. Industry estimates cited by Newsday show the chain’s revenue dropping about 15 percent from 2023 to 2024, with more than 200 locations bringing in roughly $677.9 million in total sales last year.
"After many years of serving the community, Hooters in Fresh Meadows, Queens, and Farmingdale, Long Island, are now closed. This decision was made due to lease expiration," a representative from the brand told Time Out via e-mail. "As part of our current efforts to focus, revitalize and strengthen the original Hooters brand across America, we look forward to re-opening in the New York City market soon."
Before it closed, the Fresh Meadows restaurant had already become one of the last Hooters standing in New York State. Now that it’s gone, only one location remains statewide. For better or worse, that means one of America’s most recognizable restaurant concepts has officially flown the coop in New York City.