Willow Grove Park Mall TGI Friday's Shut Down After 40 Years

WILLOW GROVE, PA — A longtime restaurant staple of the Willow Grove area community is closing its doors.

The TGI Friday's at the Willow Grove Park Mall, which has been in operation for 40 years since opening in 1983, is one of 36 locations of the chain that shut down suddenly across the nation.

Numerous employees said on social media that they were stunned by the news and had been given no forewarning.

"We regret to inform you that Fridays has made the difficult decision to close our doors at Willow Grove effective January 2, 2024."

TGI Friday's said the locations that were shut down were "underperforming."

“Our top priority has always been delivering a superior experience for each and every TGI Fridays guest, and we’ve identified opportunities to optimize and streamline our operations to ensure we are best positioned to meet — and exceed — on that brand promise,” Ray Risley, the CEO of TGI Friday's, said in a press release.

“By strengthening our franchise model and closing underperforming stores, we are creating an unprecedented opportunity for Fridays to drive forward its vision for the future," he added.

Roughly 80 percent of the 1,000 employees impacted by the closures nationwide have been offered new jobs at other locations. It's not clear how many TGI Friday's workers were able to be reassigned.