"Many chain restaurants come on strong, peak, and then slowly disappear, but it's still a shock when a brand that was at the center of food culture for decades shrinks to nothing. Still, that has become an increasing possibility for many restaurants in the struggling casual dining industry. Buca di Beppo and Red Lobster went bankrupt in 2024, Hooters did in 2025, and plenty of big names like Denny's, Applebee's, and Outback Steakhouse are in decline."
"Many of those shrinking big names still seem unlikely to close completely, as Chapter 11 bankruptcy is sometimes just a bump in the road for restaurants. However, TGI Fridays looks to be in dire trouble. Founded in 1965, at its peak in the 2000s, the casual bar and grill had around 600 locations nationwide. At the end of 2025, the brand had less than 80."
"That's not just a big decline from the 2000s, but a huge drop from the 270 individual TGI Fridays locations at the beginning of 2024, and even the 133 it had when it filed for bankruptcy just before 2025. While most of those recent closures were the result of the company declaring bankruptcy in 2024, the brand had been declining for years. For a restaurant that once defined the whole idea of casual dining, this is quite shocking. So, what went wrong?"
TGI Fridays experienced a dramatic decline after decades as a defining casual-dining brand. Many casual-dining chains faced distress, with Buca di Beppo and Red Lobster bankrupt in 2024 and Hooters in 2025. TGI Fridays peaked with around 600 U.S. locations in the 2000s but fell to 270 at the start of 2024, 133 when filing for bankruptcy before 2025, and fewer than 80 by the end of 2025. The brand had been contracting for years despite Chapter 11 sometimes serving as a temporary step for other chains. TGI Fridays began in 1965 as an Upper East Side bar aimed at attracting women, founded by Alan Stillman.
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