Hooters, one of the last longstanding restaurants left at Baltimore’s Harborplace, has closed for good as the sports bar and wings chain pursues a lawsuit against the pavilion’s developer.
The Downtown Baltimore location was posted with a “Closed” sign and was no longer listed on Hooters’ website as of Tuesday. It’s among several Hooters restaurants to shutter around the country. The Atlanta-based chain blamed market pressures for the closures in a statement sent to The Baltimore Sun:
“Like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores. Ensuring the well-being of our staff is our priority in these rare instances. With new Hooters restaurants opening domestically and internationally, new Hooters frozen products launching at grocery stores, and the Hooters footprint expanding into new markets with both company and franchise locations, this brand of 41 years remains highly resilient and relevant. We look forward to continuing to serve our guests at home, on the go and at our restaurants here in the U.S. and around the globe.”
The restaurant, known for scantily clad servers and pub grub like burgers and wings, opened in Harborplace’s Light Street pavilion in 1990. Not everyone welcomed the arrival. Just two weeks after Hooters opened, the Baltimore chapter of the National Organization for Women launched a petition drive urging city officials to evict the restaurant, citing “discriminatory and sexist” practices.
Despite the opposition, Hooters endured, outlasting other Harborplace businesses. Three decades later, the restaurant was one of the last dining options to remain in the aging retail pavilion designed by James Rouse, which has seen an exodus of tenants in recent years. The Cheesecake Factory continues to serve customers in the neighboring Pratt Street pavilion. MCB Real Estate, which acquired Harborplace out of a court receivership last year, has installed temporary tenants in both pavilions, including some food-and-drink businesses like Crust by Mack and Matriarch Coffee, as it pushes for a more comprehensive redevelopment.
Last year, Hooters sued MCB and its previous landlord, New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., for breach of lease, alleging that “neglect and inaction” has had “a major detrimental impact on Hooters’ ability to successfully operate its restaurant.”
The lawsuit, filed in November in Baltimore City Circuit Court, complained of reduced foot traffic at Harborplace and alleged that the festival pavilion was “unkempt, dirty, and poorly maintained” and that its landlords had “failed to adequately police” the complex, prompting Hooters to pay for its own security. The restaurant was broken into in September, Hooters said in its complaint.
In a January court filing, MCB Real Estate denied most of the allegations and said the Baltimore-based developer had not breached its contract with Hooters.
In an emailed statement to the Sun, a spokesperson for MCB Real Estate said Hooters “abruptly vacated its Harborplace store” on Monday “without any notice” to the developer and emphasized that the closure was “not a Harborplace specific issue.”
“Hooters is in default of their lease which remains in full force and effect,” the spokesperson wrote. “MCB intends to pursue all rights and remedies under that lease.
“Harborplace has had an influx of exciting new tenants and new programming that is attracting people back to Harborplace and this is just the beginning.”
Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., Hooters’s landlord for the majority of the restaurant’s tenancy, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Nov. 12, according to online court records.
A Hooters in Towson closed in 2019. A sign on the Harborplace location recommended customers visit Hooters in Laurel.
