TGI Fridays has closed its only Fresno restaurant. It’s been operating for 45 years
The only TGI Fridays in Fresno has closed.
The restaurant, at Herndon Avenue and First Street, closed effective Tuesday.
It’s been operating for 45 years.
A manager at the restaurant declined to comment, and Fridays corporate office did not immediately return messages seeking comment about why it closed.
The location has about 40 employees.
Restaurants closing
All types of restaurants faced tough times in 2023 as food inflation skyrocketed and the cost of paying employees continued to climb in California as minimum wage rose.
The Bee reported this week that at least 30 restaurants closed last year in Fresno and Clovis. They range from popular longtime Chinese restaurant Hunan to locations of Burger King and Boston Market.
TGI Fridays was known for its classic American food, cocktails and relaxed atmosphere with TVs playing sports.
It was the quintessential chain/franchised restaurant loved by Fresnans, along with eateries such as Applebee’s and Chili’s Grill & Bar. It had low-priced specials on food such as loaded potato skins, and an “all day every day” happy hour with $4 cocktails and $2 beers.
Fridays reportedly inspired the fictional restaurant in the film “Office Space,” where server Jennifer Aniston was criticized for not wearing enough “flair” — buttons on her uniform.
The delivery-only ghost kitchen Conviction Chicken also sold chicken wings out of the Fresno location.
With the closure, there are currently no Fridays locations between Union City in the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area.
Although the company has plans to add 75 restaurants in South and Southeast Asia over the next 10 years, several American locations have closed the past two years.
The last Idaho Fridays restaurant closed last summer.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the then-CEO predicted that as many as 20% of the chain’s locations could close permanently, later lowering that estimate to between 10% and 12%.
The company has somewhere around 850 restaurants in more than 55 countries. In 2022, there were about 300 locations left in the U.S., according to MarketRealist.com.
Goodbye to Fresno customers
The TGI Fridays Fresno Facebook page said goodbye to customers in a post with a series of photos.
Signs on the restaurant’s doors read: “We regret to inform you that Fridays has made the difficult decision to close our doors at Fresno/Herndon effective January 2, 2024. Unfortunately, we do not have a nearby location, but look for us in airports and other cities across the country.”
It continued: “We are extremely grateful to our loyal Guests and our Team Members at our Fresno/Herndon restaurant.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 2:39 PM.
