Marketing

There's enough color in TGI Fridays' past for a month of Sundays

Restaurant Rewind: With the casual-dining greybeard set to begin a new chapter as a British-owned concept, it’s a good time to remember the brand’s decidedly American past.

Even the name suggests a climb out of a rut: TGI Friday’s, as in it’s time to cut loose and have some wicked fun. The casual-dining trailblazer didn’t disappoint, aiming from Day One to offer a different sort of experience to children of the conformity-conscious '50s.

They would know it as a singles bar, though they wouldn’t tag it as such until years later. They just knew it was unlike the genteel places where their parents might drag the whole family for a birthday or graduation.

It was the beginning of a serial transformation that would smash one restaurant convention after another, redefining the full-service sector as it went. The firsts would include an intense focus on what we now call mixology, and what anyone in today’s sit-down sector would instantly know as a bar menu.

With Friday’s about to begin a new chapter through its acquisition by a British franchisee, Restaurant Rewind looks back at that colorful past and the stamp the chain has already left on the business. So pull up a cocktail, hit “Play” and join us for a recollection of the times we were all a little less gray.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

The eatertainment business shows signs of wear

The Bottom Line: The food-and-games concept Chicago WhirlyBall filed for bankruptcy last week as companies like Dave & Buster’s and TopGolf show sales weakness.

Financing

This is why the restaurant business is in a value war right now

The Bottom Line: Same-store sales have slowed markedly for the past year as customers shifted to other options. And now operators are furiously working to get them back.

Financing

Saladworks-parent WOWorks is shopping for new brands to buy

The platform company is almost finished assimilating its existing six brands. Now it's time to add to the family, said CEO Kelly Roddy.

Trending

More from our partners