The fall of TGI Fridays
The Collapse Of TGI Fridays Is A Case Study In How Not To Run A Restaurant
TGI Friday's went from a casual dining chain generating $2 billion in annual revenues to another victim of the 2024 restaurant bankruptcy wave.
·
4.6k reads
·
The Lede
TGI Fridays has gone through a lot of iterations. It started in the 1960s as a hot singles bar. By the '80s and '90s, it had transformed into a nice-enough family-friendly spot for a cheapish night out. Nowadays, the chain has become a place that nobody really wants to go to — at least not enough to keep the casual dining chain out of bankruptcy.
Key Details
- Fridays closed 36 underperforming corporate-owned restaurants at the start of the year, citing efforts to "optimize and streamline" its operations.
- It's been a tough year for many restaurant chains, including Red Lobster and Buca di Beppo. Other than the pandemic-triggered wipeout of 2020, chains appear to be on track to declare more bankruptcies than ever before.
- It's not that Fridays hasn't tried some different things — getting into events or adding new menu items — but none of it has really worked.
