TGI Fridays

TGI Fridays rolls out new lunch program

Feeling the pressure from fast casuals, TGI Fridays said it’s on a mission to land more lunch business.

The week in ideas, December 21, 2012

Tip pooling might be a bad idea. Begging for business might be a good one. Keeping your mouth shut can also be a good idea. Telling cops they can’t eat at your restaurant is never a good one. But none of that matters because the apocalypse is today. Hope you have your promotion lined up.

A new TGI Fridays in Corpus Christi, Texas, is ditching the dark wood, red stripes and kitsch—as well as the TGI—to capture a different crowd and daypart.

Sentinel Capital Partners, which will be the majority shareholder, earlier this year acquired Checkers Drive-In Restaurants as well as the parent company of the Newk's Eatery franchise.

Operators are looking to cash in on the chatter surrounding this year’s presidential race.

TGI Fridays intends to sell most of its 247 company-run units to current and new franchisees who agree to renovate the restaurants and construct stores on what the company termed an “accelerated timetable.”

Mick McGuire, an investor known to play an active role, also wants a seat for himself.

Technology and social media fueled many of the year’s marketing successes and missteps at restaurants. A couple of operators, though, found new life in old tricks, doubling down on discounting and resurrecting in-demand LTOs.

The creator of breakthrough items like the Doritos Locos Taco will now be charged with differentiating the casual brand from the pack.

A Women’s Foodservice Forum study earmarked “building networks” among the top three competencies of successful women in the industry. See how to tailor that effort to your style.

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