TGI FridaysFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TGI Fridays franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.4M – $4.5M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $5.0M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.4M – $4.5M
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $5.0M
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 120
- 43rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 10.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchising since 1978. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 134 to 39 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.4M – $4.5M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $5.0M/year (median $3.1M).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.0% across 10 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC
- Parent company
- TGIF Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- TGIF Holdings
- Predecessor
- have
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 19111 Dallas Parkway, Suite 165, Dallas, Texas 75287
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $70.9M
- vs $53.4M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual dining restaurants serving American cuisine with an emphasis on appetizers, burgers, and beverages. Day-to-day operations include managing 50-150+ staff, controlling food/labor costs in a high-overhead venue, maintaining brand standards across marketing and service, and competing in a declining casual dining sector.
- CEO
- Raymond A. Blanchette
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1972
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 23
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Decor & Sound System/TVs | $100K | $185K | |
| Exterior Signage | $15K | $100K | |
| Kitchen/Bar Equipment | $231K | $495K | |
| Kitchen/Bar Accessories | $40K | $50K | |
| Computer POS Systems/KDS/Installation | $18K | $23K | |
| Purchasing Agent Feesnot refundable | $0 | $60K | |
| I.T. Service and Support Feenot refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Opening Inventory | $70K | $90K | |
| Hiring Expenses; Employees and Training | $65K | $200K | |
| NSO Supportnot refundable | $0 | $241K | |
| Liquor License | — | — | |
| Building & Improvements | $600K | $2.3M | |
| Site Improvements | $70K | $345K | |
| Developmental Costs | $65K | $100K | |
| Insurance (3 months) | $13K | $25K | |
| Miscellaneous Costs | $10K | $100K | |
| Online Orderingnot refundable | $600 | $600 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $60K | $200K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.4M | $4.6M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$495K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.4M – $4.5M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $200K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $5.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $3.1M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 81 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$12.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.9M→$9.7M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How TGI Fridays Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 120
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 48
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 37.2%
- Company-owned
- 39
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 68%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.7%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -55.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -39.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 12
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 5
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 70.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 10.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- New York
- North Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 10
- Loan volume
- $8.0M
- Median loan
- $797K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 10.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
TGI Fridays represents a high-risk investment with a collapsing franchise network, going concern warning, and undisclosed profitability metrics despite massive capital requirements.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $100,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Court for the Northen District of Texas; filed on November 2, 2024. Our predecessor, TGI Friday’s Inc., and the Debtors sought bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to facilitate a financial reorganization of the company. As of the issuance date of this Disclosure
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 100 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 37.2% year-over-year indicates systemic franchise system collapse
- 02HIGHGoing concern warning suggests parent company financial distress and viability uncertainty
- 03MINORNo net income disclosure combined with $4.9M average revenue raises profitability questions
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees in same market
- 05MINORHigh investment range ($1.4M-$4.5M) with 4% royalty requires $198K+ annual sales just to break even on fees
- 06MINORDeclining unit count suggests franchisees are not renewing or are exiting the system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 112 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 350 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
TGI Fridays · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a TGI Fridays franchise?
The total investment to open a TGI Fridays franchise ranges from $1.4M – $4.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do TGI Fridays franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the TGI Fridays FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $5.0M. The median is $3.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is TGI Fridays's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, TGI Fridays has a charge-off rate of 10.0% across 10 loans, meaning 10.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many TGI Fridays franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TGI Fridays has 120 total units in the United States, including 134 franchised units and 39 company-owned units.
Is TGI Fridays a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TGI Fridays as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 100 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.