12-05-2025
TGI Fridays Is Shrinking Rapidly After Closing 185 Locations
A beloved restaurant chain is rapidly closing locations, with 30 locations closing in just one recent month alone and 185 being lost in just over a year.
TGI Fridays used to be a popular restaurant chain, familiar to people throughout the US. But now the number of restaurants that remain open is shrinking rapidly.
According to the chain's website, there are now only 85 TGI Fridays restaurants left in the entire U.S. The restaurants are located in 19 states. Georgia has the most remaining with seven, according to the website.
According to CNN, this represents a "sharp decline," from the 270 locations that were left at the beginning of 2024. The chain had 600 restaurants across the U.S. at its height in 2008, after launching in 1965, CNN reported.
In late 2024, the parent company for the brand filed for bankruptcy and has now been closing locations with "an additional 30 locations shuttering over the past month," in March, 2025, CNN reported.
The company told CNN in April 2025 that TGI Fridays is "now led by franchisees, with a franchisee advisory board empowering and shaping brand-wide decisions.'
However, according to the company's website, TGI Fridays has more locations in other countries, 44 in all. There are a total of 461 restaurants in all of those countries, the site says, calling the chain "the original casual dining bar and grill."
In November, TGI Fridays announced that it had filed "voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Northern District of Texas. The Company expects to use the time and legal protections made available through the Chapter 11 restructuring process to allow the Company to explore strategic alternatives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the brand," its statement reads.
