TGI Fridays closes a dozen stores across America in just one month
FILE-Photo of a permanently shuttered TGI Fridays in Islandia, New York, on January 3, 2024. (Photo by Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Your ability to enjoy a plate of loaded potato skins and $5 happy hour drinks is slowly dwindling, as TGI Fridays has closed 12 U.S. locations in the past month and shuttered 35 restaurants across the pond.
According to the company’s location section on its website, multiple TGI Fridays locations in the Northeast closed last week, including in Clifton Park, Middletown and Poughkeepsie, New York; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Enfield, Connecticut; and Leesburg, Virginia.
Additional closures from earlier this month took place in the Southeast and Midwest regions, in states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, as well as two locations in Minnesota.
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United Kingdom-based Sky News also reported last week that the restaurant chain secured an acquisition deal to save 51 locations and their workers’ jobs, but ultimately, 35 stores closed their doors immediately and more than 1,000 employees were let go.
TGI Fridays did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment or clarification on the recent closures.
In January of this year, however, the brand closed an additional 36 of its restaurants that were "underperforming," claiming it was part of a long-term growth strategy to ensure viability.
It also sold eight of its corporate-owned restaurants to its former CEO Ray Blanchette in January, with the company adding that this "era of transformation" will help drive continued revenue for the chain.
"We've identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations to ensure we are best positioned to meet – and exceed – on that brand promise," TGI Fridays Chief Operating Officer Ray Risley previously said in a press release.
"By strengthening our franchise model and closing under-performing stores," he continued, "we are creating an unprecedented opportunity for Fridays to drive forward its vision for the future."
TGI Fridays has been serving its customers for more than 50 years and has 215 open and operating locations in the U.S., its website states.
FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.