Two years after bankruptcy, he is betting on global expansion, digital engagement, and a people-first attitude to revive the casual-dining brand.

TGI Fridays was the quintessential American casual-dining brand in the ‘90s and ‘00s, but these days you’re much more likely to spot the famous red-and-white-striped awning overseas, in countries like Spain, Argentina, Kenya, and even recently, the Maldives.

Ever since the company declared bankruptcy in November 2024 and Ray Blanchette returned as CEO of TGI Fridays after a two-year hiatus, the brand has focused on expanding its reach — both globally and digitally — and learning from the mistakes of past leadership and ownership.

“TGI Fridays went through a period of really bad private equity ownership where it was underinvested in,” Blanchette said. “I don’t think we realized how fortunate we were to be part of the Carlson family [previous ownership] for 40 years and have unlimited access to capital to invest in the business, in training programs, and in our people. We’re investing a lot to bring that back.”

Now, with the company’s liquidation plan behind them, the TGI Fridays leadership team can focus on the future instead of getting hung up on the TGI Fridays of yesteryear. The company plans on expanding again in the U.S. soon, but over the past several years, has increased its development in new and growing international markets.

“The good thing about our growth is it’s coming organically from franchisees that have been around a while — like the Philippines, where we’ve been over 30 years, or Japan, where we’ve been for 25 years, and they’re signing new development agreements,” Blanchette said.

But global store growth is not the only way Fridays plans to expand its reach. Blanchette’s leadership team has also doubled down on the brand’s social media voice and digital advertising.

Last year, for example, the brand’s social media “feud” with Chili’s over who had the better mozzarella sticks went viral, and this summer, the company went all-in on World Cup promotions, particularly in other international markets, including Red Card and Yellow Card Margaritas.

“It’s easy for us to be that pesky little brother [to Chili’s] punching above our weight and that went viral and began to inform our strategy,” Blanchette said. “We went from trying to use social media to transact to using it to keep people engaged with the brand. … For a 61-year-old brand, it’s fun to keep it young and fresh.”

The other two crucial elements of the brand’s turnaround are innovation and investment in people. Innovation doesn’t even necessarily mean just new menu items. Blanchette mentioned the World Cup again as an example of how the company used the cultural zeitgeist to create a moment for Fridays, with not just specialty margaritas, but also in-store decorations that target fans of the “Super Bowl of the rest of the world.”

The TGI Fridays brand reset and refresh is powered and made possible by investments in people. It’s no coincidence, Blanchette said, that this is a franchisee-led organization. Global expansion and a solid comeback can only happen if franchisees and employees are committed to the success of the brand.

“If a franchisee opens a new restaurant in a new market and it exceeds expectations, then they’re going to open stores faster than the development agreement,” he said. “We’ve got people lined up and excited about the future, and that’s how we’re going to drive our vision.”

Source https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/leadership/how-tgi-fridays-ceo-ray-blanchette-plans-keep-61-year-old-brand-young-fresh