Family favourite chain’s ‘jewel in the crown’ flagship restaurant CLOSES with no warning after 35 other sites shuttered

THIS family favourite restaurant chain has shut its flagship store with no warning to dismayed customers.

The popular branch has followed the fate of 35 other of its sites – which have also shut down.

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TGI Fridays’ flagship store in Leicester Square has been closed for good.

The London store was described as “Fridays’ jewel in London’s crown” and the restaurant had so much faith in the store that in 2015 £3.5 million was invested into it.

Unfortunately the American-style diner continued to struggle and went into administration on September 18, 2024.

This put all 87 locations and risk and around 3,000 employees were plunged into job insecurity.

Later that year, hopes were high after a rescue deal was struck.

Breal Capital and Calveton acquired the TGI Friday’s UK franchise in October 2024.

The private investors promised to save at least 51 of the struggling stores which would have secured at least 1,000 hospitality staff jobs.

Breal Capital and Calveton, who own D&D London, Byron Burgers and Vinoteca wine bars, installed a new hope in TGI fans who didn’t want to see their beloved chain go.

Unfortunately, this didn’t pan out for some gutted customers in London.

Even though the Leicester Square store was supposedly one of the stores to be kept running, according to Propel Hospitality, the flagship site has now shut.

On Google, the branch is reviewed at around 3.8 out of five stars and is marked as “permanently closed.”

Breal Capital and Calveton announced 35 other stores would be shutting immediately which led to 1,012 staff members losing their jobs.

It’s unclear exactly why TGI Friday’s is being forced to close so many stores but the environment for restaurants has become tougher.

With rising bills, high customer expectations, and fewer people going out to eat due to the cost of living crisis, many restaurants are struggling.

TGI opened in opened in New York in 1965 and had around a whopping thousand branches worldwide at its peak.

The diner, also struggling across the pond, filed for Chapter 11 protection on November 2 in the US after a series of closures.

Diner fanatics will be happy to hear however there are still plenty of branches available both in the UK and the US.