News built for finance pros
CFO Brew helps finance pros navigate their roles with insights into risk management, compliance, and strategy through our newsletter, virtual events, and digital guides.
Filing for bankruptcy looks better when you have some novelty pins and buttons on your uniform.
TGI Fridays, the casual dining chain known for corporate happy hours and immortalized by Office Space, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company said on Saturday.
In its bankruptcy filing, the company listed its assets and liabilities within the $100 million to $500 million range. The Texas-based company has acquired a loan from the Bank of San Antonio for funding during its bankruptcy, per a court filing.
TGI Fridays said it intends to use “the time and legal protections” of the Chapter 11 filing to “explore strategic alternatives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the brand.”
Amid the bankruptcy, the 39 restaurants the company owns across the United States will stay open, while the 56 locations operated by independent franchisees remain exempt from the Chapter 11 process.
“The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from Covid-19 and our capital structure,” Rohit Manocha, executive chairman of TGI Fridays, said in a statement.
The filing is no shocker. In September, Hostmore, a British restaurant operator, canceled its plans to buy TGI Fridays. By October, Bloomberg reported TGI Fridays was looking for financing ahead of a possible bankruptcy filing.
It’s been a big year (in a bad way) for restaurant chains and bankruptcy filings. Filings by restaurant chains are on track to hit their highest point in decades, with the exception of 2020, per Wall Street Journal analysis of BankruptcyData.com records. TGI Fridays will now join a long list of other restaurants that also filed in 2024, including Red Lobster (which has since exited Chapter 11 protection) and Buca di Beppo.
In here, it’s always Friday bankruptcy time.