Another American dining mainstay is on the brink of financial collapse.
Popular restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection this weeked, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches this year, according to ABC News.
Rohit Manocha, executive chairman of TGI Fridays, said in a statement that the “primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure.”
Sit-down chain restaurants more broadly have faced challenges in recent years as diners choose to get food delivered or visit upscale fast-casual chains.
The company’s Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for a chain that was once near the center of American pop culture but has seen its customer base dwindle as tastes changed.
The company has boasted that its bartenders trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 film “Cocktail.”
Its serving staff’s button-filled uniforms, meant to evoke a fun atmosphere, were later parodied in the 1999 satire “Office Space,” starring Jennifer Aniston.
TGI Fridays was founded in 1965 as a bar on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The chain expanded over the following decades to become a popular watering hole known for its ribs, potato skins topped with cheese and bacon, and a decor bedecked with red stripes and Tiffany-style lamps.
TGI Fridays peaked in 2008 with 601 restaurants in the U.S. and a $2 billion business, according to Kevin Schimpf, director of industry research at Technomic.
Its sales in the U.S. were $728 million in 2023, down 15% from the prior year, according to Technomic.
It now counts 163 restaurants in the U.S., down from 269 last year. It closed 36 in January and dozens more in the past week.