Dallas-based TGI Friday’s, which started in Manhattan in 1965 and was one of the first chains to capitalize on the “happy hour” concept, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Saturday in the Northern District of Texas, docket 24-80069.
CNN reported that the company issued a statement, which communicated that fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic was the “primary driver of our financial challenges” and it will use the Chapter 11 process to “explore strategic alternatives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the brand.”
CNN noted that patrons will remember the restaurant’s kitschy interior with Tiffany-style lamps and big red booths, as well as that in the 1990s service staff wore “flair,” or pins and other decorative pieces on their uniforms, that became a joke on the 1999 film Office Space.
According to Fox Business, although there are more than 461 TGI Friday’s restaurants in 41 countries, the bankruptcy only affects TGI Friday’s parent company, which operates 39 restaurants, and not the 56 franchisees that control the remaining locations. The company has secured financing, so all restaurants will operate as usual while it navigates the bankruptcy process.
TGI Fridays joins other chains, like Red Lobster, BurgerFi, World of Beer Bar & Kitchen, Buca di Beppo, and Tender Greens, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the last year.
If you are a landlord or trade creditor of TGI Friday’s, it is important to know your rights now. Stark & Stark’s Shopping Center and Retail Development Group can help. Our bankruptcy attorneys regularly represent landlords throughout the country, including recently in the Eastern District of Missouri, District of New Jersey, Southern District of New York, District of Delaware, District of Minnesota, and the Western and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, regarding a variety of issues.
Most recently, our Group has represented landlords and trade creditors in the Big Lots, Tijuana Flats, Rite Aid, Blink Fitness, Express, JOANN’s, Party City, Buyk, Tuesday Morning, Mattress Firm, Toys R Us, EMS, RadioShack, and Sports Authority chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
For more information on how Stark & Stark can assist you, please contact shareholders Thomas Onder at (609) 219-7458 (tonder@stark-stark.com) or Joseph Lemkin at (609) 791-7022 (jlemkin@stark-stark.com).
