The American-themed diner restaurant chain TGI Fridays has closed 12 more locations in the US while shuttering nearly three dozen in the UK.
TGI Fridays ended operations at several of its locations in the Northeast last week including in Clifton Park, Middletown and Poughkeepsie in New York; Enfield in Connecticut, Allentown in Pennsylvania, and Leesburg in Virginia, according to the company’s website.
Earlier this month, TGI Fridays closed the doors of locations in Charlotte, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Saginaw Township, Michigan; Schererville, Indiana; Grand Chute, Wisconsin; and Edina and St Louis Park, Minnesota.
The 12 closures come as Breal Capital and Calveton, which own the restaurant business D&D London, announced earlier this month that they purchased TGI Fridays, saving 51 locations in the UK. However, 35 locations were not part of the sale and were closed immediately, with more than 1,000 employees out of jobs.
In the US, TGI Fridays closed 36 locations in January because they were ‘underperforming’.
The company’s restructuring efforts have included selling eight locations that were corporate-owned to its former CEO, Ray Blanchette.
‘We’ve identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations to ensure we are best positioned to meet – and exceed – on that brand promise,’ stated TGI Fridays Chief Operating Officer Ray Risley in May.
‘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.’
The US branch of the business had planned to merge with Hostmore, which operates 89 TGI Fridays locations in the UK, but the deal did not go through.
TGI Fridays first opened in New York in 1965 and has 215 locations operating in the US, according to its website. It has more than 650 locations in 51 countries.
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The company is just one of multiple chains struggling amid continued inflation and customers pulling back on spending.
In late September, one of the largest Pizza Hut franchises, EMY Pizza L.P., announced that it was selling all 127 of its stores across five US states after failing to bounce back from bankruptcy.
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