Goodbye TGI Fridays? Nearly 50 locations closed as restaurant chain prepares for bankruptcy

Nearly 50 TGI Fridays restaurants closed in the last week bringing the total number of remaining locations to 164, down from 213 in mid-October 2024. A list of underperforming restaurants forced to close isn’t currently available, but on social media reports of closings in Ohio, New York, California, New Jersey and Florida, amongst others, have been announced.

Reports from media outlets such as CNN and Bloomberg claim TGI Fridays is preparing to file for bankruptcy in order to continue operating until a cash injection comes from investors to keep the restaurant chain afloat. The company “will likely use Chapter 11 to seek a buyer for some portion of its business, to reject leases for unprofitable locations and to restructure its debt so it can emerge from bankruptcy with a smaller but still viable footprint,” said John Bringardner, head of Debtwire in the CNN article.

TGI Fridays was in the news in January 2024 when the company announced that 36 locations were forced to close due to poor performance.

Other restaurant bankruptcies and closures in 2024

This year has been very difficult for the restaurant industry as staff costs and food prices have gone up forcing customers to make difficult decisions to save money as inflation and higher interest rates have lowered the middle class’ spending power. Red Lobster was also forced to file for bankruptcy this year and nearly 100 restaurants were shuttered in the US. Finding ways to reduce the burden on the middle class in 2025 is going to have to be high on the agenda for whoever wins the presidential election on Nov. 5, 2024. Minimum wage increases for servers and fast food preparers is also partly responsible for the increase in restaurant closings.

We will keep you posted with more information about the list of TGI Fridays restaurant closings as the data becomes available.