Dallas, Texas, USA-headquartered TGI Fridays Inc., the owner and operator of 39 domestic restaurants in the TGI Friday’s casual dining chain, on November 2 filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the Northern District of Texas. It aims to use the time and legal protections made available through the debtor restructuring process to allow it to explore strategic alternatives to ensure the long-term viability of the brand.
Privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, the company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million.
Founded in 1965 in New York City as a casual dining bar and grill, its menu today features popular American fast food and beverage fare including hamburgers, chicken wings, ribs, french fries, potato skins, beer, wine and cocktails.
“The next steps…are difficult but necessary actions to protect the best interests of our stakeholders, including our domestic and international franchisees and our valued team members around the world,” said Rohit Manocha, executive chairman of TGI Fridays Inc. “The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from Covid-19 and our capital structure. This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential.”
TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC has franchised the brand to 56 franchisees in 41 countries. All of these franchise locations, both domestic and international, are independently owned and therefore not included in TGI Fridays Inc.’s Chapter 11 process. They are open and serving customers as usual.
TGI Fridays has “stopped the clock on payments of this month’s rent to landlords and other vendors, giving them breathing room to restructure,” said John Bringardner, head of Debtwire, in an interview with CNN. He added that the parent company “will likely have to close or sell unprofitable locations as part of the restructuring.”
In January of 2024, the company shuttered dozens of restaurants in the United States and announced the sale of eight previously corporate-owned restaurants in the Northeast to former CEO Ray Blanchette. Last week, it closed 50 outlets, reducing its number of operating units to 163. Before the wave of shutdowns this year, there were approximately 270 locations in business.
In September a proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays franchises in the United Kingdom reportedly fell through as the company shut down dozens of restaurants.
