It’s a rough start to the new year for fans of loaded potato skins. According to a Wednesday press release, TGI Fridays plans to shutter 36 underperforming locations in select markets across the U.S. The locations scheduled to shut down are spread across 12 states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
The restaurant chain included this news in a larger announcement, which also revealed plans to sell eight of its previously corporate-owned restaurants in the Northeast to the company’s former CEO Ray Blanchette. These changes follow recent efforts to enhance the brand’s leadership team, another step TGI Fridays claims is part of an overall plan to optimize operations and drive long-term growth.
“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,” said Ray Risley, the chain’s U.S. president and chief operating officer, in the 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.”
As part of the store closures, TGI Fridays is offering over 1,000 transfer opportunities for employees. This will help over 80 percent of impacted employees find a new role. Before these closures, TGI Fridays maintained about 270 U.S. locations, and about 650 restaurants across 51 countries worldwide.
“As we continue along our path of transformation to revitalize the Fridays brand and implement a long-term growth strategy, we see a bright future for TGI Fridays,” said CEO Weldon Spangler in the release.
Below is a list of the locations that TGI Fridays plans to close, according to CNN Business:
- Fresno, California: 1077 E. Herndon Ave. 93720
- Denver, Colorado: 8104 Northfield Blvd., 80238
- Longmont, Colorado: 125 Ken Pratt Blvd., 80501
- Newington, Connecticut: 3025 Berlin Turnpike, 06111
- Ormond Beach, Florida: 24 Ocean Shore Blvd., 32176
- Royal Palm, Florida: 580 N. State Road 7, 33411
- Berlin/Marlbourough, Massachusetts: 601 Donald Lynch Blvd., 01752
- Danvers, Massachusetts: 49 Newbury St., 01923
- Dedham, Massachusetts: 750 Providence Hwy, 02026
- Mansfield, Massachusetts: 280 School St. Suite A100, 02048
- North Attleboro, Massachusetts: 1385 S. Washington St., 02760
- Seekonk, Massachusetts: 1105 Fall River Ave., 02771
- Bowie, Maryland: 15207 Major Lansdale Blvd., 20716
- Columbia, Maryland: 8330 Benson Dr., 21045
- Amherst, New Hampshire: 124 NH-101A Ste. 28, 03031
- Eatontown, New Jersey: 180 NJ-35 Ste. 6000, 07724
- Hacksensack, New Jersey: 411 Hackensack Ave., 07601
- Iselin/Woodbridge, New Jersey: 401 Gill Ln., 08830
- Malrton, New Jersey: 970 Rte. 73 N., 08053
- Princeton, New Jersey: 3535 US-1 #275, 08540
- Springfield, New Jersey: 40 US-22, 07081
- Wayne Town Center, New Jersey: 71 Route 23 South, 07470
- Albany, New York: 1475 Western Ave, 12203
- Bay Shore, New York: 1725 Sunrise Hwy., 11706
- Hauppauge, New York: 3045 Expy Drive N., 11749
- Massapequa, New York: 5204 Sunrise Hwy., 11762
- Woodbury Township, New York: 5 Centre Dr., 10917
- Willow Grove, Pennsylvania: 2500 W. Moreland Rd., 19090
- Corpus Christi, Texas: 5217 S. Padre Island Dr., 78411
- Houston Almeda, Texas: 12895 Gulf Fwy., 77034
- North Arlington, Texas: 1524 N. Collins Street, 76011
- The Woodlands, Texas: 1105 Lake Woodlands Dr., 77380
- Fredericksburg, Virginia: 1160 Carl D Silver Pkwy, 22401
- Manassas, Virginia: 7401 Sudley Rd., 20109
- Springfield, Virginia: 6751-B Frontier Dr., 22150
- Woodbridge/Potomac Mills, Virginia: 13237 Worth Ave., 22192