TGI Fridays PA Location Among 36 Shut Down: Reports

PENNSYLVANIA — The casual dining chain TGI Fridays is closing 36 “underperforming” stores in 12 states as part of an “ongoing growth strategy” that includes the sale of eight restaurants to a former CEO. At least one of the locations slated for closure is in Pennsylvania, but the specific restaurant locations that will be shuttered have not been disclosed.

The TGI Fridays closures included the longstanding restaurant at the Willow Grove Park Mall in Montgomery County, which has stood for 40 years.

In addition, seven locations in New Jersey, six in Massachusetts, five in New York, four each in Texas and Virginia, and two in Colorado. Restaurants in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, and New Hampshire were also part of the closure, though the company did not specify where they are located.

Shuttered TGI Fridays locations announced the abrupt closing, “effective Jan. 2, 2024,” to customers with signs on their doors, according to social media posts and the New York Post.

At the same time, former CEO Ray Blanchette, creator of the Loaded Potato Skins appetizer, will acquire six TGI Fridays restaurants in Massachusetts and two in New Hampshire.

About 1,000 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the closures, but about 80 percent of them will be offered transfers within the company, according to the news release. It's not clear how many TGI Friday's workers in Willow Grove were able to be reassigned.

The chain has about 275 U.S. locations, with 16 in Pennsylvania