TGI Fridays Abruptly Closes Location In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — TGI Fridays abruptly closed dozens of locations across the country this week, including the restaurants in Hamden and Newington.

The restaurant at 2335 Dixwell Ave. in Hamden is permanently closed, TGI Fridays’ officials confirmed to Patch on Friday.

The TGI Fridays’ sign has been taken down from the building at the Dixwell Avenue location, but a sign explaining the closure was not posted at the door.

Reports of the sudden closures of TGI Fridays locations began popping up on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Boston25News.com reported signs posted at the door of multiple locations in Massachusetts stated, “We regret to inform you that as of Jan. 2, 2024, this Fridays location has closed.” Overall, six locations in Massachusetts were closed.

The TGI Fridays location in Newington was listed as permanently closed, according to a Google search, and has been removed from the TGI Friday’s website.

TGI Fridays confirmed in a post on Twitter that the Newington restaurant has permanently closed.

TGI Fridays also announced in a news release that it is closing 36 “underperforming locations” in select markets across the U.S.

“As part of the store closures, TGI Fridays is offering more than 1,000 transfer opportunities, which represents over 80% of total impacted employees,” the news release states.

The restaurant chain also announced Wednesday that eight previously corporate-owned restaurants in the Northeast have been sold to former CEO Ray Blanchette.

“With a history of deep involvement and unwavering confidence in the Fridays brand, Mr. Blanchette brings an unmatched understanding of the TGI Fridays business and the restaurant's commitment to delivering excellence for guests,” according to the news release. “Following the finalization of the sale, Blanchette will lead the locations into a new phase of revitalization.”

The eight locations have not been identified.

TGI Fridays has four remaining locations in Connecticut with restaurants in Orange, Manchester, Enfield, and Waterbury. Hamden was still listed on its website, as of Friday, but its hours of operation are “closed” for each day.