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.
According to our tester, TGI Fridays' superiority came down to three factors: The quality of the meat, a generous serving of caramelized onions which worked well with the sharp cheddar hit, and (rather surprisingly for a frozen product) the bread. "It's a simple yeast-based roll, but it has that sweeter taste and pillowy texture of a potato bun," we wrote. "It was the only bun that really impressed me out of the bunch, so I believe that deserves extra kudos."
The flagship TGI Fridays opened on Manhattan's Upper East Side in 1965, but it wasn't the family-friendly operation that exists today. The first T.G.I. Friday's, as it was called then - the company dropped the periods and the apostrophe in 2013 - was the world's first singles bar. The bar was founded by perfume salesman Alan Stillman, an Upper East Side bachelor who himself was looking for a place to mingle with other singles.
