TGI Fridays will live to see another day, at least while bankruptcy proceedings continue.
The casual dining destination filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the weekend, calling the restructuring an opportunity for TGI Fridays’ “go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential,” Rohit Manocha, the executive chairman of TGI Fridays Inc., said in a press release .
According to Manocha, the chain’s “financial challenges” were the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and their capital structure.
Thirty-nine company-owned TGI Fridays locations, included in the bankruptcy filing, will stay open and so will the hundreds of others the company owns in the U.S. and abroad. Restaurant locations owned and operated by third-party entity TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC will also stay open.
According to CNN, TGI Fridays shuttered 50 locations last week before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had more than 270 locations worldwide before the closures. Now, there are a little more than 160 TGI Fridays locations across the country and internationally that are currently open.