Once-Popular Restaurant Chain in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin Down to 85 Locations

The landscape for mid-level chain restaurants has been looking especially bleak and brutal as of late. This year, Hooters has filed for bankruptcy, and Red Robin is also planning to close 70 locations too. However, both might not be doing as bad as one chain restaurant.

Per Fox Business and multiple sources, one restaurant chain is reportedly down to fewer than a third of the number of locations they had in the U.S. at the start of 2024. It's a shocking fall-from-grace, but I do believe the trend, however unfortunate, is fairly easy to explain.

At the start of 2024, TGI Fridays had 270 locations across the country. Now, the website has listed only 85 locations, a shockingly low figure suggesting that nearly 200 restaurants have closed in the last 16 months. In November 2024, the restaurant entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which led to the closure of over 160 locations across the country.

Here's a breakdown of where TGI Fridays stands in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Full disclosure: the numbers are paltry compared to how ubiquitous the restaurant used to be:

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• Iowa: Zero locations
• Illinois: Three locations (Bedford Park, Chicago, and Effingham)
• Wisconsin: One location (Madison)

Per Fox Business, TGI Fridays' move to enter bankruptcy was "to allow the company to explore strategic alternatives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the brand." The bankruptcy did not impact locations franchised to 56 franchisees in 41 countries.

In my opinion, one of the reasons these mid-level, sit-down restaurant chains have struggled to gain traction is due to a few factors I'll list below:

• Consumers are looking for higher quality food when they eat out. People are much more likely to try a new local establishment, or a tried and true one in their community, than settle for what is perceived as average quality food at higher prices.
• The advent of Doordash and Uber Eats has made food delivery ubiquitous in the culture. However, most people don't think to Doordash food from places like Hooters or TGI Fridays. Those restaurants were always predicated on the in-dining experience, which is seen as dated.
• The decline of malls in America plays a role too. Back in the days when teens and young people would hang out at malls, they didn't necessarily eat at places like TGI Fridays because they were great. They ate there because they were convenient. The disappearance of malls plays a bigger factor into this than I think many recognize.

TGI Fridays' global footprint now stands at 391 restaurants in 41 countries, per Fox Business. Under the direction of a new CEO, the company is apparently about to undergo a significant menu upgrade, with new food and cocktail options launching nationwide on May 13th, 2025. They also claim they will be taking more of an initiative to standout on social media, in order to court Gen Z and other young people.

Read more about the current state of TGI Fridays on Fox Business' website.