1965
The first T.G.I. Friday’s® restaurant opens in New York City at the corner of First Avenue and 63rd Street. T.G.I. Friday’s on Manhattan’s upper East Side quickly becomes THE meeting place for single adults, totaling $1 million in revenues its first year.
The first T.G.I. Friday’s menu was a chalkboard.
1970
Memphis, Tennessee becomes the location for the second T.G.I. Friday’s.
1972
T.G.I. Friday’s opens in Dallas in the spring of 1972. As in New York and Memphis, T.G.I. Friday’s took the city by storm. The Dallas restaurant nets a record-setting $2 million in revenues its first year.
After this dramatic success, the Dallas franchise joins the T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant in New York to take the concept nationwide, excluding Manhattan. T.G.I. Friday’s Group, Inc. (Dallas) merges into TGI Friday’s Inc. (New York).
T.G.I. Friday’s starts its tradition of welcoming Friday in at midnight on Thursday night. Every Thursday night is like a New Year’s Eve party, with champagne, confetti and noisemakers.
"Thursdays are always the big deal at Friday’s, since that’s when the usually packed-anyway restaurant has its midnight gala with balloons and champagne."
Dallas Times Herald, March 30, 1972
"Bar where the Singles Mingle (local swingles) hang out…Friday’s is the present phenomenon on the Dallas scene."
Dallas Times Herald, April 25, 1972
"Friday’s in Old Town is one of the highest volume restaurants in Texas."
Dallas Times Herald, October 19, 1972
1973
"It all began modestly enough. An unmarried New York City perfume salesman named Alan Stillman decided that the coolest way to meet the stewardesses in his neighborhood would be to buy a broken down beer joint, jazz it up with Tiffany lamps and mod young waiters and christen it – with an eye toward attracting the career crowd – the T.G.I.F. (Thank Goodness It’s Friday). Within one week the police had to ring Friday’s (as it quickly became known) with barricades to handle the nightly hordes of young singles. Hundreds of blatantly imitative emporiums soon opened their doors in scores of major cities – and an industry was born."
Newsweek, July 16, 1973
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant at Old Town (Greenville Avenue) in Dallas marks its one-year anniversary by selling everything on the menu for 1/10th the price.
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant opens in the Houston Galleria on July 24. Seven astronauts, led by Alan Shepard, attend the restaurant’s grand opening.
1974
After months in the test kitchen, T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants introduce what will become all-time favorite – Loaded Potato Skins.
1975
TGI Friday’s Inc., which has grown to 12 restaurants in nine states, is acquired by Carlson Companies, Inc.
1978
T.G.I. Friday’s is introduced in Florida, Illinois, Missouri and Colorado.
1982
Assistant Travel Writer, Judy Williamson, reports that "T.G.I. Friday’s is the grand-daddy of the singles bars…places come and places go but Friday’s endures."
Dallas Morning News, February 7, 1982
1983
Loaded Potato Skins are the most popular appetizer and Chicken Marsala is the best-selling entrée at T.G.I. Friday’s.
T.G.I. Friday’s introduces Friday’s Flings® and Smoothies, flavorful, non-alcoholic drinks. A company spokesperson says, "We introduced Smoothies in celebration of the 1984 Summer Olympics. They add another option for guests who decide not to order alcohol."
Mocha Mud Pie is the dessert of choice.
1984
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain grows to 105 restaurants.
1985
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain celebrates its 20th anniversary.
TGI Friday’s Inc. signs their first international development agreement with Whitbread & Co. PLC of London.
1986
Whitbread & Co. PLC opens the first international T.G.I. Friday’s in Birmingham, England.
1987
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant debuts in London/Covent Garden. This restaurant ranks as the highest-dollar-volume restaurant in the chain.
1989
TGI Friday’s Inc. enters into its first international joint venture to operate T.G.I. Friday’s in Asia.
1990
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain grows to 169 restaurants worldwide.
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain celebrates its 25th anniversary.
1991
20 T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants open in the USA, and two are added to the international portfolio.
Booths are added to T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants, and the interior wood is lightened to brighten the atmosphere.
1992
T.G.I. Friday’s is voted #1 in menu variety by diners surveyed by Restaurants & Institutions magazine.
The first T.G.I. Friday’s opens in an airport – Pittsburgh.
The Seoul Yang Jae T.G.I. Friday’s sets a new worldwide weekly sales record with $185,958 USD.
1993
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain grows to 243 restaurants in the USA and 20 in the international marketplace.
Nation’s Restaurant News profiles Carlson Companies. Southwest Editor Ron Ruggless reports, "From its inception in 1965, T.G.I. Friday’s celebrated its name, ‘Thank Goodness it’s Friday.’ But the 1980’s changed the market, with romantic affairs yielding to family affairs."
Nation’s Restaurant News, March 29, 1993
1994
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants are now located in eight countries.
The London/Covent Garden T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant breaks the worldwide weekly sales record with $214,168 USD. Only to be followed by the London/Haymarket T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant who set the bar even higher with $247,385 USD.
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain celebrates the opening of the 300th restaurant, which is located in Seoul, Korea.
TGI Friday’s Inc. signs an agreement to expand into the People’s Republic of China, marking the 50th country where T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants will operate.
Friday’s Front Row® Sports Grill opens at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
1995
The T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain celebrates 30 years of being the world’s favorite gathering place for food, fun and cheer.
TGI Friday’s Inc. reaches $1,000,000,000 in system-wide revenues.
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants open in eight new countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Panama and Switzerland. T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants are now located in 23 countries worldwide.
Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill opens in Orlando, Florida. Celebrities on hand for the grand opening festivities included supermodel Kathy Ireland; ESPN commentator Chris Berman; football star Vinny Testaverde, and basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Success magazine ranks TGI Friday’s Inc. as one of the top 100 franchisors.
Restaurant Business magazine names Friday’s Hospitality Worldwide Inc. as "Employer of Choice".
Friday’s American Bar® opens in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Makati, Philippines.
1996
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant debuts in Idaho – the 45th state for T.G.I. Friday’s.
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants open in ten new countries: Argentina, Cyprus, Honduras, India, Kuwait, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
Development agreements for T.G.I. Friday's are signed for 26 new countries: Aruba, Austria, The Bahamas, Bonaire, Costa Rica, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Jamaica, Macau, Nicaragua, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
For the second consecutive year, Success magazine ranks TGI Friday’s Inc. as one of the top 100 franchisors.
1997
Jack Daniel’s® Grill makes national debut!
The Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill in Orlando sets a new worldwide daily sales record on Superbowl Sunday with $56,650!
The most popular appetizer at T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant is Loaded Potato Skins, the most popular entrée line is Jack Daniel’s Grill and the most popular dessert is Oreo® Madness.
Scandinavia welcomes the first T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant in Stockholm and the first Friday’s American Bar in Oslo.
T.G.I. Friday’s becomes the first American casual dining restaurant chain to open a restaurant in Moscow, Russia.
The Friday’s USA brand reaches $1 billion in system-wide sales.
More than 125 individual restaurant sales records are broken in 1997 – a new Company record.
Friday’s Hospitality Worldwide receives the Enterprise Award for Best Business Practices in the “Going International” category.
1998
To prepare the company to expand its operations beyond the current concepts into new concepts and possible acquisitions, Friday’s Hospitality Worldwide changes its holding name to Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc.
The 100th international T.G.I. Friday's restaurant debuts in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the 500th T.G.I. Friday's restaurant opens in Plymouth, Minnesota.
TGI Friday's Inc. signs a development agreement with Watami Food Service Co., Ltd. which will result in the development of T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants in Japan.
TGI Friday’s Inc. signs a milestone agreement with Compass Group PLC for the development of T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants and Friday’s American Bar units in airports across Europe and the Asia Pacific (with the exception of the UK), as well as in Canada and South Africa.
1999
During the first quarter, T.G.I. Friday's restaurants debuts in Bogota, Colombia and Fortizza, Malta.
2000
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants open in Dublin, Ireland and Budapest, Hungary.
Friday’s American Bar debuts in the London/Heathrow Airport, and a T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant opens in the Indianapolis International Airport.
T.G.I. Friday’s launches its newly redesigned website – www.fridays.com.
2001
Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill opens at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants debut in two new countries – Iceland and Saudi Arabia.
T.G.I. Friday’s Web Site receives the "Golden Web Award" from the International Association of Web Masters and Designers.
The T.G.I. Friday’s chain receives NRN’s MenuMasters Award for “Best Limited Time Offer” for Island Recipes.
The Oxford Valley T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant was voted “Best Gourmet Burger” by the readers of The Courier Times.
2002
Richard Snead is appointed President of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, and is featured on the cover of Chain Leader.
By the end of 2002, there were 522 Friday’s restaurants in the USA and 191 international locations, for a total of 713 restaurants. System-wide sales for 2002 were $2.1 billion.
The Arlington Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill was chosen as one of the Top 10 great places to take children to eat by the Star Telegram.
Minneapolis St. Paul magazine recognized the Minneapolis Airport T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant for having the Best Burgers at the airport.
T.G.I. Friday’s becomes the first casual dining restaurant chain to debut a day-parted menu.
The Buffalo T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant received 1st Place in the "Best After Work Hangout" by the Bee Group Newspapers.
Restaurant Hospitality recognizes the T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant chain as a Merit Award winner in their Best Kid’s Menu contest.
The Las Vegas T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants were the Review-Journal-Sun "Reader’s Pick" for Best Late Night Dining and Best Appetizers.
Minnesota Parent recognized T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants for having a great kids’ menu and fun birthday parties.
Los Angeles City Search readers voted the Magic Johnson’s Friday’s in Ladera as "Top 10 Best After Work Bar."
2003
TGI Friday’s Inc. signs development agreement with Out In The Boonies, Inc. to develop the first T.G.I. Friday’s in Alaska!
T.G.I. Friday’s announces the first-of-its-kind partnership with Atkins Nutritional Approach.
The revitalization of the T.G.I. Friday’s begins….. New restaurant design, new menu, new lighting, new music!
2004
T.G.I. Friday’s was voted as Best Airport Food and Beverage Operator by Airport Revenue News in the 2004 Best Concessions Award.
T.G.I. Friday’s was recognized for its beverage innovation by Nation’s Restaurant News at the Nightclub & Bar Show.
The Effingham T.G.I. Friday’s received several recognitions in the recent Effingham Daily News Reader’s Poll. The restaurant was voted "Best Dessert", and also received honorable mention for "Favorite Ice Tea", "Favorite Milk Shake", "Favorite Hamburger", "Favorite French Fries", "Favorite Onion Rings", "Favorite Salad", "Favorite Italian Food", "Favorite Seafood", "Favorite Romantic Restaurant", and "Favorite Restaurant To Take Out Of Town Guests".
Anne Varano, SVP of HR and Communications, was honored for leadership excellence at the annual Elliott Conference. Presenting the award was Mary Boltz Chapman, editor-in-chief of Chain Leader.
Richard Snead, president and CEO, was named a Golden Chain Award recipient by Nation’s Restaurant News.
T.G.I. Friday’s revitalization program is profiled in Nation’s Restaurant News.
T.G.I. Friday’s recruiting program is recognized at MUFSO with the prestigious PAPA award.
2005
The T.G.I. Friday’s brand celebrates 40 years with a fabulous celebration at the annual Global Leadership Conference – held on Paradise Island, Bahamas at the Atlantis Resort.
