Red Lobster and TGI Fridays are one of the casual dining chains Americans have grown to love. Recently, it shut down some of its restaurants. A major reason for this restaurant closing is a changed landscape in restaurants. The brands of such restaurants react to changed consumer preferences, increasing expenses to operate the business, and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is what the fans of these eateries should know about the closings and what could come next.
Red Lobster and TGI Fridays: Why close up the restaurants?
Both have been facing severe challenges lately, most of which have only been p. READ MOREañaged by the pandemic. Their closing some of these restaurants is part of a larger adjustment in the alignment of their business to more lucrative markets. Food prices are skyrocketing, labour costs are too, and in addition to being an old standby of delivery and takeout, consumer preferences across the board had both chains reappraising locations that will and won't hold up over time.
- Red Lobser Closures Shrink Footprint
Red Lobster has been the staple of casual dining with a seafood menu, like lobster tail and clam chowder, for more than four decades. But not at all locations.
Top Red Lobster Locations to Close
- Times Square, New York City
- Location, located smack dab in the middle of one of the worlds most visited locations by tourists is closing it down because of operating costs and not as much foot traffic as before, as tourism hasn't really come back just yet. Pop among tourists, but lags in expensive land and shift in eating habits.
- Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
- One of the most famous tourist destinations in San Francisco is not a place exempt from hardships. Soaring rents and a sharp drop in visitors after the pandemic made the location not viable for the chain. "We are closing this store down," the company said.
Magnificent Mile, Chicago
This Red Lobster, on the trendiest shopping street in Chicago, saw a decline in sales as the neighborhood changed and the taste of its customers started to shift. Economic issues, associated with the economic slowdown, sealed the deal by reducing the sales of in-store dining.
Red Lobster Future News
Although Red Lobster loses in some places, it still wins in others. The company will focus on delivery and takeout, a service that more and more people are ordering these days. More importantly, the company highlights its concern over sustainability. It does so through its creation of new menu options friendly to the environment and by using locally sourced seafood.
2. TGI Fridays Closures: Welcome to the New Norm
TGI Fridays is certainly not an exception to this shift in trend, especially when it comes to American comfort food like burgers, ribs, and loaded potato skins. In fact, it had to close several of its locations because changing dining habits and costs require a change.
This is an industry shift that is much more significant, however, with a lot of chains looking at downsizing and streamlining their operations.
Shutting Down TGI Fridays Franchise Locations
Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
This TGI Fridays has been the go-to hangout for both locals and tourists in the midst of the entertainment capital. Still, high rent, competition from trendy new hotspots, and changing dining tastes have forced this location to shut down.
- South Beach, Miami
- TGI Fridays, South Beach Miami, which transformed from that place being too over the years to become one of the destination points in that city for tourists and locals. As the ever-rising operation cost went with changed consumer behavior, the place could not hold onto its former fabulous foot traffic and permanently shut down the place.
- Uptown, Dallas
- Once a beloved destination in Uptown Dallas, TGI Fridays has witnessed the once-beloved restaurant fail to retain its customers as the rising food cost, labor shortage, and less in-dining population continue to bite.
The company said it would close this location and concentrate on more profitable regions.
What's Next for TGI Fridays?
This, TGI Fridays recently announced it would be adjusting its business strategy because of such changes. More flexible restaurant styles are coming where the focus on smaller spaces would be placed into efficient and spacious take-out as well as delivery areas. Their technology spending for mobile order-and-pay capabilities as well as for digital marketing should also stay within the ever-more competitive market boundaries.
7. The Big Picture: New Restaurant Industry Norms
These are just a few of the many changes for the casual dining landscape. Red Lobser and TGI Fridays are not the only restaurant chains rethinking the way they will do business going forward. All of this together-high rents, labor shortages, and explosion of third-party delivery services-has changed the way customers interact with restaurants forever.
The industry reflects a healthy view of menu offerings and sustainable consumption trends that are both eagerly pursued by Red Lobster and TGI Fridays regarding their future advancements. It cannot be easy for any business or brand to call it quits in operations; it was a catalyst for change to the brands where they are piloting technology introduction, new concepts of business ventures, and helping them get streamlines in process operations.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
-Red Lobster and TGI Fridays are closing underperforming locations to cut costs and focus on stronger, more profitable markets.
- Consumer behaviors in delivery, carryout— and now third-party food pickups—are at play.
- Even though both chains will lose locations, there are operations improvements and taking in what such new trends have in store to learn.
- If you enjoy these chains, don't fret: while locations are being shuttered in a few places, both of these companies continue to go gangbusters around most of the globe and further options--in terms, for example of delivery or smaller location-can be expected.
Of course, it is a sad affair to see the shut downs of some of the most popular destinations, but Red Lobster and TGI Fridays keep pace with the market's tides. Read on for more updates about these two iconic restaurants creating a new face for casual dining!