TGI Fridays closes dozens of its stores : NPR

An image of the sign for T.G.I Friday’s as photographed on March 16, 2020 in Levittown, New York.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

An image of the sign for T.G.I Friday’s as photographed on March 16, 2020 in Levittown, New York.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

TGI Fridays has closed 36 restaurants across the country and sold eight back to its former CEO, the company said this week.

The company is offering more than 1,000 transfer opportunities for 80% of the impacted employees, it said.

“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,” TGI Fridays CEO Weldon Spangler said in a statement released by the company.

Eight stores in the Northeast were sold to former CEO Ray Blanchette, who “will lead the locations into a new phase of revitalization,” the company said.

The company also recently restructured its executive leadership team, with Spangler being appointed CEO, Ray Risley being named U.S. president and chief operating officer and Nik Rupp named chief financial officer and president of international markets.

There are now 237 TGI Fridays locations in the U.S.