TGI Fridays

Operations

Inside Ray Blanchette's plan to revive TGI Fridays

The former CEO of the casual-dining chain is back in the driver’s seat and ready to lead the chain out of bankruptcy and into a new era.

Financing

TGI Fridays sells 19 restaurants out of bankruptcy

The casual-dining chain sold the locations to two franchisees, including former CEO Ray Blanchette’s Sugarloaf Hospitality.

The casual-dining chain, which filed for bankruptcy in November, has lost about half of its U.S. footprint over the past year.

Cancun-based Mera Corp. outbid former Fridays’ CEO Ray Blanchette for a group of nine locations, including five at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, according to reports.

Ray Blanchette’s Sugarloaf Concessions bid $30.5 million for nine locations of the casual-dining concept, including its high-volume outlets at DFW Airport.

Two employees said they were let go without proper notice when their restaurants closed last month ahead of the casual-dining chain’s bankruptcy filing.

The Bottom Line: The casual-dining chain’s bankruptcy declaration was a long time coming, the latest evidence in what has been a brutal market for sit-down restaurants.

Restaurant Rewind: Once a true convention smasher, the casual-dining pioneer gradually sanded away the quirks and irreverence that made it saucier than anything the industry had seen before. Here’s a reminder of what it once was.

A Deeper Dive: Senior Editor Joe Guszkowski joins the Restaurant Business podcast to discuss the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of the venerable casual-dining chain, and what it says about the industry.

COVID-19 was the final straw for the bar and grill pioneer, which became at least the third casual-dining chain to file for bankruptcy this year. But its problems started well before the pandemic.

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