After more than 31 years of serving wings, beer and community events out of a building on South Parker Road, Aurora's Hooters restaurant is shutting its doors for good on November 15, 2026. The closure leaves just two Hooters locations standing in Colorado, in Westminster and Loveland.
The restaurant at 2610 S. Parker Road opened in Aurora in June 1995, according to 9News, and has operated there ever since. Hooters Colorado thanked loyal guests, the community and its own staff for their support and contributions over those three-plus decades, the station reported.
Hooters Colorado cited steep competition, other high-profile establishments closing and record-high inflation and costs as the reasons behind the Aurora closure. The company described itself as an independently owned Hooters franchise that remains financially stable, and said the shutdown has no correlation to the corporate bankruptcy filed by Hooters of America.
What Happens to the Staff
Hooters Colorado said employees in good standing through the closure will be able to apply at its other locations and concepts with their positions intact, per the same 9News report. That leaves Westminster and Loveland as the company's remaining Colorado outposts once the Parker Road doors close for the final time on November 15.
The Aurora property has a somewhat tangled real estate history. A 2025 listing from commercial brokerage Blue West Capital noted that the restaurant had operated at the location for over 30 years and had recently extended its lease for an additional five years. Blue West Capital also announced that the property itself sold for $2.3 million at a 5.87% cap rate in March 2025. The supplied record does not explain why the restaurant is now closing despite that lease extension, and no corporate statement addresses the discrepancy.
A Chain Shrinking Nationwide
The Aurora closure comes against the backdrop of a bumpy stretch for Hooters as a brand. Hooters of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025, and court filings reported by Restaurant Business stated that the company had closed 48 restaurants since the start of 2024 as part of a plan to sell or close its corporate stores and move forward as a pure franchisor. Fox News reported that the company is pursuing a strategy centered on a predominantly franchise-operated business model.
Hooters CEO Neil Kiefer has pushed back on the idea that the wave of closures signals trouble for the brand itself, telling Fox News that “these store closures are not an indication of brand strength.” The same report noted the company has also opened new restaurants during its rebuilding effort, including a location in The Villages, Florida, that opened in July 2025, with another planned near Tampa in Lutz.
Other Longtime Locations Have Closed Too
Aurora's closure fits a broader pattern of long-running Hooters restaurants shutting down across the country. A Hooters in Chicago's River North neighborhood closed after 35 years, with a company spokesperson telling NBC Chicago that “increasing development and neighborhood changes have transformed the area.” In Florida, where Hooters was founded, a Jacksonville location closed after four decades in business and was described as the area's last remaining Hooters, while a Panama City Beach restaurant closed after more than 30 years, Fox News reported.
Colorado also saw one of these closures in 2025. A Hooters in Lone Tree announced its last day open would be Sunday, July 13, 2025, with a report from KYGO noting that the Parker Road, Loveland and Westminster locations would remain afterward. With Parker Road now also set to close, Westminster and Loveland are left to carry the Hooters name in Colorado going forward.
