TGI Fridays Just Closed Even More Locations. How Many Are Left Now?
TGI Fridays has joined the list of struggling restaurant chains. This storied American restaurant is now keeping company with flailing restaurant chains Red Lobster, Denny's, and Steak N' Shake. The ironic part is that even as TGI Fridays appears to be in free fall in the United States, it continues to thrive in its many international locations.
In November of 2024, TGI Fridays filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The year leading up to this failure saw the company close around 100 of its U.S. restaurants. Since the corporation filed its Chapter 11 petition, TGI Fridays has shuttered another 30 locations around the country.
This has left the iconic chain restaurant company with 133 American locations, according to its website, roughly half the number of restaurants it boasted as 2023 came to a close. Media reports from New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Ohio, and Massachusetts have all confirmed that TGI Fridays locations there have shut down in the past weeks. TGI Fridays still boasts 400 locations in the U.S. and internationally.
TGI Fridays problems were decades in the making
TGI Fridays struggles are not new. For nearly two decades the Dallas-headquartered restaurant chain has been reeling from plummeting sales and store closings. Data reported by Restaurant Business Magazine shows that during the years of 2008 to 2023, the restaurant chain closed 55% of its American locations as sales plunged by 63%.
A deteriorating situation worsened for TGI Fridays last year. The corporation suffered problems with its business securitization causing it to lose control of a large number of assets. The final blow came from the failure of the intended merger with British franchisee Hostmore.
This combination of catastrophes culminated in the filing of bankruptcy. The filing only involved the remaining company-owned 39 locations throughout the United States. Fridays subsequently revealed that it would sell off nine of the restaurants for $34.5 million to restaurant operator Mera Corp. This restaurant group successfully outbid former TGI Fridays CEO Ray Blanchette who is a current Fridays franchisee and head of TGI Fridays global franchise business.
Where TGI Fridays are closing and how many remain
TGI Fridays continue to close around the United States. As of January 2025, the remaining four Las Vegas locations had shut their doors. These included the Gold Coast, Aliante, Sam's Town, and The Orleans restaurants, according to Parade. The two Fridays restaurants in Riverhead and Farmingville closed in Long Island, New York in January also. Hagerstown, Maryland Fridays shuttered on January 24th. It left them with 133 locations in the United States.
Other Fridays locations may close during the rest of 2025. Not all of the news for the iconic chain is bad though. Former CEO Ray Blanchette has purchased eight of the company-owned Fridays locations. He plans to revitalize them himself. Blanchette explained to the Wall Street Journal that "This isn't rocket science. You have to sell people a good time," as Parade reported.
Current Fridays CEO Weldon Spangler remains optimistic about the prospects for TGI Fridays. He told Parade, "As we continue along our path of transformation to revitalize the Fridays brand and implement a long-term growth strategy, we see a bright future for TGI Fridays."