New Hampshire and Massachusetts TGI Fridays Locations Close Abruptly

On Wednesday, the corporate offices of national chain restaurant TGI Friday's announced the immediate closing of 36 locations.

Six of those locations are in Massachusetts, and one is in New Hampshire.

The effected stores are in the following Bay State towns: Dedham, Danvers, Mansfield, Seekonk, North Attleboro, and Marlborough.  According to metrowestdailynews.com, these locations in Massachusetts remain open: Boston, Braintree, Everett, Methuen, Millbury, North Dartmouth, and Stoughton.

The Amherst, New Hampshire, location has also closed, while Concord and Manchester remain open.

According to a press release, TGI Friday's has offered transfers to the 1,000 displaced workers, which only covers 80% of the impacted employees.

CNN reports, "Other changes implemented at the nearly 60-year-old chain include selling eight previously corporate-owned locations, all in the Northeast US, to its former CEO Ray Blanchette. He had been TGI Fridays’ chief executive for five years until May 2023."

There's no report on which of the eight locations were purchased by the former CEO.

Stiff competition from Chili's and Applebee's has caused the company to re-evaluate its model, and determine which locations are underperforming.  The private investment company, TriArtisan Capital Advisors, is the owner of the TGI Friday's brand, and wants to make sure to "deliver a superior experience" to each guest.

Honestly, our go-to at TGI Friday's are the beer buckets, wings, and Jack Daniels ribs. As the company strived to compete, they added sushi.

Either way, look for more changes to the current Friday's, and let's see what the new owner, who obviously knows the brand well, does with the eight Northeast locations he's purchased.

There's more to come.