Hooters Restaurant In River North Closes After 35 Years

RIVER NORTH — After 35 years, the Hooters restaurant in River North has closed. The location first opened in 1991 at 660 N. Wells St. The company cited increasing development and neighborhood changes, which a Hooters spokesperson told NBC Chicago led it to the difficult but considered decision to leave this location. There are still various Hooters locations in the Chicago area, including one on the city s Far Northwest Side near O Hare International Airport and a Hoots Wings, a takeout-focused sister restaurant to Hooters, in the South Loop. The 660 N. Wells St. restaurant building was sold for approximately $4.1 million in October 2025 to GW Wells LLC, according to Cook County records. GW Wells is a Florida-based company linked to Colombian real estate investor Juan Sebastian Arango Giraldo, according to public records. Arango, founder of real estate investment firm G-Wealth, is also linked to the ownership of the River North building housing Chicago Chop House. ___