The CEO of the 391-unit casual-dining restaurant brand looks to the horizon as a franchise organization
Ray Blanchette, owner of Sugarloaf TGIF Management, is now leading TGI Friday’s as CEO, and, as a franchisee himself, he said franchisees are now in charge of the brand globally.
“We've formed our new management advisory committee, which is made up of six international franchisees, two domestic franchisees and myself,” Blanchette said in an interview this week. “That's really acting as sort of the quasi-board, if you will, but we're making all the brand strategy decisions and what not collectively as a group. The franchisees are now in charge of the TGI Fridays brand globally.”
The brand plans to unveil a new menu on May 13 at the now 391-unit casual-dining restaurants, he said. It is in test at Sugarloaf and other units, he said.
Franchisee engagement level has increased, said Blanchette, who returned to the CEO role in January after the company filed for bankruptcy protection in November.
Blanchette, who served as CEO of TGI Fridays for five years, stepped down from the position in May 2023.
“We've already had two in-person meetings, one in Dubai and one here in Dallas,” he said. “We were able to host our franchisees in our new office, which people were very excited about. So far, things are going according to plan.”
Since its bankruptcy filing last year, the Friday’s brand is left with 391 locations.
“They're all franchised at this point,” said Blanchette, who franchises eight locations, primarily in New England, but also in New York.
“We bought two in New York and then we most recently just picked up the TGI Fridays in Hollywood, Calif., because it's so close to New England,” he said. “That unit is in a Hilton Garden Inn with some partners of ours that were really excited about the potential to grow there.”
After closing underperforming restaurants earlier this year, the Dallas-based brand is repositioning itself for growth under the leadership of CEO Ray Blanchette, who returned to the company in 2022.
“We’ve done the hard work,” Blanchette said. “We’re now a smaller, more nimble organization with a clear vision for where we’re going.”
Fridays has embarked on a brand refresh centered around simplifying its operations and improving unit-level economics — with a franchise-first model leading the charge.
“Our focus now is squarely on building a franchise-friendly model,” Blanchette said. “We’ve lowered the cost to build, improved four-wall economics, and created a much more investable business.”
A key component of the strategy has been a deep menu simplification — reducing stock-keeping units, and focusing on top-performing items like burgers, ribs, wings, and proteins.
Fridays is also leaning into its international footprint.
Domestically, the company is aiming to grow through multi-unit franchise operators and recently reopened the brand for new franchise development after a period of internal restructuring.
“This is not the TGIFridays of old,” Blanchette said. “We’re building something that’s streamlined, relevant, and built for today’s operators.”
While Fridays has faced its share of challenges — including the fallout from the pandemic and shifts in casual-dining consumer behavior — Blanchette sees the brand’s reinvention as a turning point.
“It’s all about getting back to our roots — bold food, a great bar, and an energy that sets us apart,” he said. “We’re ready to grow again, and we’re doing it the right way.”
Blanchette said the brand is “leaning hard in the celebrations and things that Fridays have historically been known for. Every successful turnaround that I've seen in restaurants starts with something that's fundamentally true about the business that you're able to tap into and exploit. And I think that's we're really starting to identify what are those fundamental truths about TGI Fridays.”
Fridays, founded in 1965, is known for its flair, Blanchette said.
“We encourage personality in our servers. I mean, that's all flair,” he said. “And as we think about it, we know we own that word.”
Blanchette said the bar will be part of the Fridays renovation.
“We just recently are in the process now of relaunching the Friday's house specialties, but with new updated drinks — all heavy pours, two-ounce pours,” he said. “So there'll be seven new Fridays house specialties that we're calling the Power Pours that we are going to centerpiece our menu around. That's fundamentally true about the business. It's taken from our history, but we're bringing it back in a fresh, relevant way.”
Blanchette sees a common purpose among franchisees.
“At our meeting in Dubai, I think for the first time in our company's history, we really talked about a one-brand strategy that's got enough stretchiness that it can work in every country, 41 countries around the globe,” he said.
Blanchette said he plans to rely on his own history with the Fridays brand.
“I started with Fridays as a manager in training in 1989 in Philly,” he recalled. “And I worked for Fridays for 18 years from ‘89 to 2007 and went from manager in training to president. When I left in 2007, it was to become a CEO. And that's when I founded Ignite Restaurant Group and took that business public in 2012. I came back to TGI Fridays in 2018.”
Blanchette said the brand has permission to innovate.
“This is another core strength of the brand,” he said. “We're going to bring some pretty wild presentations back into the mix, big bold flavors and new foods.”
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
Follow him on X/Twitter: @RonRuggless
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