GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - The kitchen at Hooters in Gulfport cooks up dozens of its signature wings every day.

Peter Meleones opened the restaurant in 2003. He’s a franchise owner and not part of parent company Hooters of America, which filed for bankruptcy in March, prompting the closing of 30 under-performing stores.

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Meleones said there are about 150 locally owned stores like his that are doing just fine.

“We’re not going anywhere. We’re very financially secure. We’ve got a great staff,” he said.

“The plan is for the original Hooters people that started it 42 years ago to re-acquire the brand, and hopefully, they are going to do that in August. We’re seeing great growth, we’re opening new stores, we’re

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