TGI Fridays will sell nine of its U.S. corporate locations to an airport restaurant operator after a bankruptcy judge approved the deal on Thursday, according to various media reports.
Cancun-based Mera Corp., a franchisee of Fridays and other restaurant brands, will pay $34.5 million for five high-grossing locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport and four in Maryland.
Mera operates restaurants primarily in airports and cruise terminals. It has 185 units across 53 brands in five countries, according to its website.
Its offer was selected over a competing bid from former TGI Fridays CEO Ray Blanchette, whose Sugarloaf Hospitality initially offered $30.5 million for the restaurants and later increased its bid to $32.5 million.
But earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fridays has chosen Blanchette to manage its nearly 400 global franchised restaurants. He will replace the consulting firm that took over after the company lost control of most of its assets in September.
Blanchette was TGI Fridays’ CEO from 2018 to 2023 and previously spent 18 years with the chain’s former owner, Carlson. He currently operates eight TGI Fridays in the Northeast, which he acquired in early 2024.
TGI Fridays did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The Dallas-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 2, blaming the pandemic and its capital structure. The bar-and-grill pioneer had been shrinking in the U.S. for years and had $37 million in debt.
The filing affected only Fridays’ corporate locations, which consisted of 39 restaurants at the time. Hundreds of other TGI Fridays restaurants worldwide are operated by franchisees.
It capped a tumultuous year for Fridays that included a failed merger with its U.K. franchisee; the termination of Fridays as the manager of its whole business securitization; and dozens of restaurant closures across the country.
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