Hooters closes Long Island's only location, in Farmingdale
Farmingdale Hooters, seen here in June 2025, has closed, the general manager said Monday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Long Island's last Hooters, in Farmingdale, has closed, management at the sports bar and restaurant confirmed Monday.
Hooters, known for its wings and beer, on Route 110 at 25 Smith St., closed without warning Monday morning, Matthew Skupp, the restaurant's general manager confirmed.
The Farmingdale restaurant is owned by a franchisee and is one of only three locations in New York State.
"I was completely taken back and completely in shock," Skupp said.
Skupp, who had been general manager of the restaurant for two years, said other than during the Super Bowl, sales at the eatery have been slowing for about a year.
The restaurant had more than 20 employees, he said.
“It was just a gut-wrenching sucker punch to tell everyone that we’re closed,” said Skupp, who learned of the closure from franchise management around 6 a.m. Monday.
"I felt devastated having to call my management teams and other staff members to tell them that we're closed and that nobody has a job anymore," he said.
The restaurant franchisees did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Recent closures of the chain have impacted only corporate-owned restaurants, not franchises like those in New York. National closures were spurred by the restaurant's bankruptcy filing last year.
Other locations on Long Island, in East Meadow and in Islandia, closed in 2012 and 2013 following failed rebranding efforts by a different franchise owner, Newsday previously reported.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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