The casual dining chain TGI Friday’s has closed 36 restaurants in the United States and has reached an agreement to sell eight additional ones to former CEO Ray Blanchette as part of its ongoing transformation.
The development comes after the appointments of Weldon Spangler as CEO and Ray Risley as U.S. President and COO in November.
CEO Shuffle at TGI Friday’s in 2023:
Spangler became the fourth person to assume the role of CEO in 2023. The swift sequence of changes began in May when Blanchette parted ways with the company, temporarily handing over the position to Rohit Manocha, co-founder of the casual-dining chain’s principal investor, TriArtisan Capital Advisor, as reported by Restaurant Business Online.
In late August, Manocha stepped down from the position, and Brandon Coleman III assumed the role. However, Coleman resigned after two months, citing unspecified personal reasons. Spangler assumed the role in October.
As per the reports, the amount paid by Blanchette for the eight Fridays stores was not disclosed. The chain mentioned that all of the units are located in the Northeast.
The announcement indicates that Blanchette will continue to operate the restaurants as franchised Fridays stores.
Blanchette has previously served as CEO at Ruby Tuesday, Au Bon Pain, and Ignite Restaurant Group—the parent company of Joe’s Crab Shack, Brick House Tavern, and Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
The 36 closed stores, characterized by Fridays as “underperforming,” were situated in various markets across the U.S. Local news reports suggested that several of them were in Massachusetts.
Fridays stated that 1,000 employees affected by the closures, constituting 80% of the combined payrolls, have been provided with transfer opportunities to other stores.
“Our top priority has always been delivering a superior experience for each and every TGI Fridays guest, and we’ve identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations to ensure we are best positioned to meet – and exceed – on that brand promise,” shared Risley in a statement.”
Following this transaction, Fridays will now operate approximately 650 restaurants across 51 countries.
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