Hooters has closed multiple restaurants after a bankruptcy declaration, shifting towards a franchise-based model and selling company-owned locations to streamline operations.

The company said the closures, which were not warned of in its March bankruptcy filing, were a "difficult decision."

The closures come after the chain agreed to sell all of its 151 company-owned restaurants to a franchise group that already owns locations across the U.S. The deal, backed by the company’s founders, was an attempt to address its $376 million in debt.