WASHINGTON — Several TGI Fridays locations across the United States closed abruptly on Tuesday, much to the surprise of longtime customers and employees.
Workers at the shuttered restaurants shared their disbelief on social media and said they received no notice whatsoever. While some indicated they'd been offered transfers to other locations within the restaurant chain, others said they were out of a job completely.
TGI Fridays confirmed Wednesday that it was closing 36 "underperforming locations" in 12 states as "part of the brand's ongoing growth strategy." The company also announced it was selling eight previously corporate-owned restaurants in the northeast to its former CEO Ray Blanchette.
The company said it had offered more than 1,000 transfer opportunities as part of the store closures, representing more than 80% of impacted employees.
New Jersey had the most closures with 7, followed by Massachusetts with 6, New York with 5 and Texas and Virginia with 4 each. There were also closings in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
Each of the stores that were shut down on Tuesday had a printed sign with similar language posted.
"We regret to inform you that Fridays has made the difficult decision to close our doors at Corpus Christi effective January 2, 2024," a sign posted at the now-closed Corpus Christi location explained. "Unfortunately, we do not have a nearby location, but look for us in airports and other cities across the country."
The closures also included the last two remaining locations in Colorado: Denver and Longmont.
While the locations that closed Tuesday are no longer listed on the company's directory, "404 Error" pages now appear if you go to their former websites from Google.
According to the company's website, there are over 850 TGI Fridays restaurants in more than 55 countries. As of October 2023, there were 278 in the U.S., according to the data company ScrapeHero.
TGI Fridays store closings 2024: Full list of latest closures
California
FRESNO, CA: 1077 E Herndon Ave, Fresno, CA 93720
Colorado
LONGMONT, CO: 125 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, CO 80501
DENVER, CO: 8104 Northfield Blvd, Denver, CO 80238
Connecticut
NEWINGTON, CT: 3025 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT 06111
Florida
ORMOND BEACH, FL: 24 Ocean Shore Blvd, Ormond Beach, FL 32176
ROYAL PALM, FL: 580 N State Rd 7, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
Massachusetts
BERLIN/MARLBOROUGH, MA: 601 Donald Lynch Blvd Ste 4258, Marlborough, MA 01752
DANVERS, MA: 49 Newbury St, Danvers, MA 01923
DEDHAM, MA: 750 Providence Hwy, Dedham, MA 02026
SEEKONK, MA: 1105 Fall River Ave, Seekonk, MA 02771
MANSFIELD, MA: 280 School St Suite A100, Mansfield, MA 02048
NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA: 1385 S Washington St, North Attleborough, MA 02760
Maryland
COLUMBIA, MD: 8330 Benson Dr, Columbia, MD 21045
BOWIE, MD: 15207 Major Lansdale Blvd, Bowie, MD 20716
New Hampshire
AMHERST, NH: 124 NH-101A Ste 28, Amherst, NH 03031
New Jersey
ISELIN/WOODBRIDGE, NJ: 401 Gill Ln, Iselin, NJ 08830
HACKENSACK, NJ: 411 Hackensack Ave, Hackensack, NJ 07601
WAYNE TOWN CENTER, NJ: 71 Route 23 South, Wayne, NJ 07470
EATONTOWN, NJ: 180 NJ-35 Ste 6000, Eatontown, NJ 07724
SPRINGFIELD, NJ: 40 US-22, Springfield, NJ 07081
MARLTON/EVESHAM, NJ: 970 ROUTE 73 N, Marlton, NJ 08053
PRINCETON, NJ: 3535 US-1 #275, Princeton, NJ 08540
New York
ALBANY, NY: 1475 Western Ave, Albany, NY 12203
BAY SHORE, NY: 1725 Sunrise Hwy, Bay Shore, NY 11706
WOODBURY TOWNSHIP, NY: 5 Centre Dr, Central Valley, NY 10917
HAUPPAUGE, NY: 3045 Expy Drive N, Islandia, NY 11749
MASSAPEQUA, NY: 5204 Sunrise Hwy, Massapequa Park, NY 11762
Pennsylvania
WILLOW GROVE, PA: 2500 W Moreland Rd, Willow Grove, PA 19090
Texas
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX: 5217 S Padre Island Dr, Corpus Christi, TX 78411
NORTH ARLINGTON, TX: 1524 N Collins Street, Arlington, TX 76011
HOUSTON ALMEDA, TX: 12895 Gulf Fwy, Houston, TX 77034
THE WOODLANDS, TX: 1105 Lake Woodlands Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77380
Virginia
SPRINGFIELD, VA: 6751-B Frontier Dr, Springfield, VA 22150
MANASSAS, VA: 7401 Sudley Rd, Manassas, VA 20109
FREDERICKSBURG, VA: 1160 Carl D Silver Pkwy, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
WOODBRIDGE/POTOMAC MILLS, VA: 13237 Worth Ave, Woodbridge, VA 22192
