It’s a big chunk of our business for sure.”Ī staple at TGI Fridays is the Ultimate Long Island (pictured far left with the Rickey Reynolds Shimmering Diva and Strawberry Henny cocktails). Our beverage mix is a lot higher than other concepts. We make sure we have the best offerings for everyone.

“We focus on beverages and cutting-edge wines and beers. “We’re very mixology forward,” Steinbrenner says. Growing the drinks business is huge.”Ĭocktails dominate beverage sales at Fridays restaurants, followed by beer, and then wine. That’s what we’re known for and that’s what we like to do. “We’re always striving to build up the beverage mix overall, to make it a bigger part of our business. “Fridays has always been known for being innovative and creative, and we continue to foster that belief,” Steinbrenner says. But that deal was called off in early April during the Covid-19 pandemic, citing “extraordinary market conditions.” Still, TGI Fridays is looking for ways to innovate and stay relevant, offering expanded delivery and takeout options that include beverages in some markets, a move the company began experimenting with a few years ago. that would have made it a publicly traded company. Fridays readied again for public offering in late 2019, when it entered an acquisition agreement with Allegro Merger Corp. In the United States, TGI Fridays corporately owns about 140 of its 380 units. in 1975 and returned to private ownership in the late ’80s it has since been owned by several equity groups and embraced a large franchise model, as more than 80% of TGI Fridays global restaurants are franchised. Stillman started franchising the concept early on-in the late 1960s-and merged with his top franchise performer in the early ’70s to form a multi-city restaurant company. Over the course of its five-decade history, TGI Fridays has seen several management changes. Popular cocktails at TGI Fridays include the Margarita (left) and tiki-style cocktails such as the Barbados Rum Punch (right).

Fast forward 55 years and the bar at each Fridays is still a central meeting point for the restaurants, even as the chain has grown tremendously. Stillman has said he created the venue because couldn’t find a public cocktail bar where 20- and 30-something men and women could meet and mingle together the chain has since been called the original singles bar. Businessman Alan Stillman opened the first restaurant in New York City, taking over a tavern on the East Side of Manhattan and rebranding it. TGI Fridays was founded in 1965 and the bar has been a key component since the concept’s first day. Across the chain, drinks sales make up roughly 30% of all revenue. TGI Fridays (Addison, Texas interior pictured) has more than 380 locations in the U.S. We spend a lot of time and manpower behind the bar piece at TGI Fridays.” How the bar goes determines how the restaurant goes. “The bar is the propeller that drives the energy in our restaurants. “The bar is the heartbeat of the restaurant it’s always the focal point,” says Randy Steinbrenner, who oversees marketing for bar and beverage. On average, each Fridays unit does $2.7 million in annual sales. The bar is a major revenue sector for Fridays, comprising about 30% of the company’s roughly $2.1 billion in annual sales globally. The company aims to make its bars lively and approachable, and the venues boast extensive menus with nearly 30 cocktails and a varied selection of wines and beers, as well as specialty shooters and a roster of sipping spirits. Within the bartending community, TGI Fridays is often viewed as a starting ground for future bar stars-people learn bartending basics and showmanship at Fridays through the company’s extensive training program and regularly show off their skills at TGI Fridays bartending competitions.įor Fridays executives, the bar is considered the core of each restaurant. The beverage component has been a key part of the Fridays experience since the concept was founded in 1965, and it remains integral to the restaurants today. With more than 380 locations in the United States and 730 global outlets in 55 countries, Fridays is well-known in markets big and small for its Americana menu and its pioneering bar program. The chain offers nearly 30 cocktails for guests.įew restaurant companies have the market penetration and name recognition of TGI Fridays. Since its founding in 1965, the TGI Fridays chain (Anne Arundel County, Maryland exterior pictured) has emphasized the bar as a central part of each restaurant, both physically in the units and as a core part of menu planning. The omnipresent TGI Fridays chain has been a bar pioneer since its start 60 years ago.

Tgi friday bartender training