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Restaurant chain TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy protection (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 3 days ago by MicroWave to c/economics

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Summary

TGI Fridays filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The once-popular sit-down restaurant has faced declining customer interest, reflecting a broader trend impacting casual dining. With just 163 U.S. locations—down from 269 last year—the chain has closed numerous outlets and seen U.S. sales drop to $728 million in 2023. While TGI Fridays operates only 39 U.S. locations directly, global franchised locations remain unaffected, with independent operators managing 461 restaurants across 41 countries under a separate franchising entity.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago (3 children)

their food has slowly slid down the enshittifcation highway now for decades. its little more than overpriced microwave 'tv' dinners. if it werent for the bar, the place would have been tits up a long time ago

[–] RonnyZittledong 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

Very similar to Olive Garden. I remember going there maybe 5 years ago and thinking "this tastes like it came out of a microwave". I know a least 3 places locally that has great food with prices that are competitive with the absurd prices even fast food chains are charging. $15-$20 for a fast food order is not ok and you should not pay it. Go to a local mom and pop.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

I worked at a Red Lobster in the early 2000s and my job was to portion out "vegetable medley" into plastic bags. These bags were kept in big trays in the refrigerator, and they would be pulled and thrown into the microwave for a minute or so. They'd dump the vegetables out of the bag and onto the plate and then just throw the bag on the floor. Cleaning up after a shift was like bulldozing filthy plastic bags.

Olive Garden is/was owned by the same group, so I'm sure it was spiritually similar there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

We went back to Olive Garden maybe 5 years ago? Thinking we know it’s bad, but it’s not that bad right? It had been a while since we last went. It didn’t taste like anything, no flavor at all

[–] Anticorp 1 points 3 days ago

That's why they have big salt shakers and offer lots of black pepper.

[–] Anticorp 1 points 3 days ago

$15-$20 for a fast food order is not ok and you should not pay it

I agree, but people are paying it, and by doing so they're saying it's okay.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

Chili’s has gone the same way. I don’t know why I expected anything different. I can be pretty naive at times.

I had the worst hamburger I’ve had in years. I remember wondering “how do you fuck up slapping ground beef on a grill? Oh… by nuking the burger and leaving out the ‘grill’ part.”

Needless to say, I’ll never go back, and be much more suspicious of chain restaurants in the future.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

I remember, back in the '00s, they had these deep fried sliced jalapenos with a cheesy dip. They were so, so good.