TGI Fridays Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
TGI Fridays is a casual-dining franchise serving American bar-and-grill food and cocktails in a lively setting. Franchisees run full-service restaurants managing kitchen, bar, and a large service staff.
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]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.4M – $4.5M
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $5.0M
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 120
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 10.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $1.4M – $4.5M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $5.0M/year (median $3.1M).
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 30/100 (higher is better). 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, 2010–2025).
- FLAGAuditor 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
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC
- Parent company
- TGIF Funding, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- TGIF Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- TGI Friday's Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Raymond A. Blanchette
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 19111 Dallas Parkway, Suite 165, Dallas, TX 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
- CEO
- Raymond A. Blanchette
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1972
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 23
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 154% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.4M – $4.5M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $200K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category 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 |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 184% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one TGI Fridays unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
16%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 TGI Fridays units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
34.4%
4.39× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.36×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$5.4M
on $14.9M purchase
Total debt
$9.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $5.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $3.1M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical gross sales by segment (company-operated and franchised), reported in quartile bands
- Sample size
- 81 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$12.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 805 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $5.0M/year in gross sales. Median is $3.1M — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Multi-unit rate
Only 7% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How TGI Fridays Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
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
- 59.3%
- Company-owned
- 39
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 68%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.7%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 48
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- 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 12 · 23 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
23
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
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 30 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORPredecessor + 17 affiliates filed Chapter 11 Nov 2024 (recent, though franchisor not a debtor)
- 02MINORNegative net worth -$55,969,000
- 03MINORFinancial distress flagged; offset by $36.3M net income and Item 19 disclosure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 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
130 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 Item 19 in the TGI Fridays FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the TGI Fridays FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 81 franchised units and 39 company-owned units.
Is TGI Fridays a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TGI Fridays as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 30 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.