ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Hooters is filing for bankruptcy protection.

But the chicken wing mainstay restaurant founded in Clearwater in 1983 is not vanishing.

HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.

Under the Hooters bankruptcy plan, 100 company-owned U.S. restaurants would get sold to a group of Hooters franchisees. The franchisees, who include Hooters’ founders in the Bay area, currently operate 14 of the 30 highest-volume Hooters restaurants in the U.S., the company said.

The local franchisee group operates 22 locations in Tampa Bay and Chicago.

During the bankruptcy process, the restaurants will continue to operate as normal, according to company officials.

Last year, Hooters closed around 40 underperforming U.S. locations.