TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy protection as sit-down restaurant struggles continue.
Restaurant chain TGI Fridays said Saturday it has filed for bankruptcy protection as it looks for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand.
The service industry in general isn't doing hot right now. Everywhere I look employers are cutting staff, cutting hours, and doing tip pools. Long gone are the days when a server or bartender could walk home with $300 cash a night; now there's one person tending bar and serving tables and bussing tables, and their tips are mostly credit cards and split between FOH and BOH so no one makes as much money.
The primary explanation I can think of is that the economy never recovered from Covid, when a literal trillion dollars was stolen from the working class and ended up in the pockets of the owner class. After a brief post-covid bump, people realized their money doesn't go as far as it used to and are eating out less. Supplies and rent keep getting more expensive, but no one has more money to keep up.
I don't know how it's going to end, but I'm happy to see shitty family friendly restaurants being among the first to go.
I'm not sure if the economy never recovered, I think it's more recovery wasn't equal. Delivery and take out (not to mention more forced to learn to cook) exploded during the pandemic and I know a lot of people just don't see the same value in sit down locations anymore.
Could just be personal observations though and maybe not universal.
Especially when people understand that these shitty restaurant chains mainly warm up frozen and/or pre-prepaired foods.
I'd rather spend my money at a local restaurant who make everything fresh.
It blows my mind that they've lasted this long. They've been shit for decades