TGI Fridays shutters 36 underperforming locations
8 stores were sold to former CEO Ray Blanchette
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TGI Fridays abruptly shuttered dozens of underperforming locations across the country as part of a long-term growth strategy to ensure viability.
The casual dining chain, privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, said Wednesday that it also sold eight of its corporate-owned restaurants to its former CEO Ray Blanchette.
Both moves are part of the company's "era of transformation" that it believes will help drive continued revenue for the chain.
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"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 said. "By strengthening our franchise model and closing under-performing stores, we are creating an unprecedented opportunity for Fridays to drive forward its vision for the future."
A TGI Fridays restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey, on Aug. 14, 2018. The location is now closed. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company did not disclose where the closures would take place, but reports indicate the closures affected restaurants in multiple states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Colorado. However, it hinted in the announcement that the closures would effectively result in some layoffs. The company announced that it was offering transfer opportunities for just over 80% of impacted employees.
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Blanchette, who stepped down in May 2023 after sitting at the helm for five years, will lead all eight locations into the "new phase of revitalization." Blanchette's involvement, according to the company, will help bolster the current leadership team.
In July, the company said that total sales were projected to hit $1.6 billion in 2022, with sales at U.S. stores open at least a year growing 8% compared with 2019.
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It also said that a deal it made in September 2022, which included 75 new restaurants throughout South and Southeast Asia over the next decade, would represent over $500 million in additional revenue.
To date, the company has more than 650 restaurants in 51 countries.