TGI Fridays
The total investment to open a TGI Fridays franchise ranges from $1.4M to $4.5M. The initial franchise fee is $50,000. Ongoing royalties are 4% plus a 4% advertising fee.
What is the TGI Fridays franchise?
TGI Fridays is a casual dining franchise founded by Alan Stillman in 1965 in New York City. It began as a singles bar on Manhattan's Upper East Side and grew into one of America's most recognizable casual dining chains, reaching more than 600 U.S. locations in 2008. The system declined from 270 U.S. locations at the start of 2024 to approximately 79 by late 2025 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024. All company owned restaurants were sold to franchisees, making TGI Fridays a 100% franchised system.
The 2025 FDD lists an initial franchise fee of $50,000, a 5% royalty on gross sales, and total investment of $2.6M to $3.8M.
During the most recent reporting period, 47 locations stopped operating and the brand reported zero new openings, producing a net loss of 47 units. PeerSense tracks 117 SBA loans totaling $109.1M in lending volume across 36 lenders. Its Loan Activity Score is 55, classified as Moderate. Prospective franchisees should assess the brand's ongoing restructuring, accelerating unit closures, and changing market position before investing.
Loan Activity Score
55/100
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
Active Lenders
8
Franchisees account for 81 of TGI Fridays's 120 locations. Public SBA loan records show 8 lenders made 10 loans to franchisees of TGI Fridays. PeerSense calculates TGI Fridays's score as 55 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity. Cost figures are based on the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document.
Franchising since 1965 · 120 locations
$1.4M to $4.5M
$50,000
120
81 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
ModerateDistinct lenders in public SBA records for TGI Fridays
10
Total SBA loans
$797K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for TGI Fridays
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Registration Data Only
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
vs 15.8% peer avg
SBA Loans
10
Total Volume
$8.0M
Active Lenders
8
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for TGI Fridays based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
5.8% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
10 loans
Across 8 lenders
Lender Diversity
8 lenders
Avg 1.3 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Premium investment
$1,408,110 to $4,516,110 total
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$14,576
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
TGI Fridays, unit breakdown
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Page Review
Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman