TGI Fridays Signs First US Development Deal in a Decade

TGI Fridays has signed its first US development agreement in more than a decade, with franchisee Bliss Bites LLC planning five additional restaurants across New York State. Reported by Nation’s Restaurant News on 29 September 2026, the agreement gives the casual-dining brand a domestic expansion story as it works to rebuild a substantially smaller American footprint.

Five planned openings and a Long Island takeover

Under the agreement, Bliss Bites will take over one of the two remaining TGI Fridays locations on Long Island, alongside its plans to open five additional restaurants across the state. The arrangement therefore combines the transfer of an existing restaurant with a commitment to new development.

That distinction matters when assessing the announcement. The Long Island takeover concerns a restaurant already in the network; the five proposed openings represent the planned additions. The research does not identify the new restaurant addresses or provide an opening timetable, so the agreement should not be read as five completed openings.

For the US franchise community, the notable development is the return of domestic development agreements after a lengthy gap. It is a step towards rebuilding the network, rather than evidence that the brand has already restored its former scale.

New York becomes the starting point again

The choice of New York gives the agreement a connection to TGI Fridays’ origins. The brand began in 1965 as a singles bar on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It is now looking to begin a new chapter of US expansion in the same state, two years after its bankruptcy.

The scale of the rebuilding task is clear from the restaurant count. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, TGI Fridays operated more than 600 US restaurants at its peak. Its domestic estate now stands at 69 locations.

Five planned openings would be a modest addition against that historical footprint. Nevertheless, the first US development agreement in more than ten years is a meaningful change in direction for a brand whose recent growth announcements have focused heavily on markets outside the country.

The agreement also puts an existing restaurant into the hands of the franchisee undertaking the expansion. That makes the Long Island location part of the story alongside the proposed new sites, although the report does not set out the sequence in which the takeover and openings will occur.

A domestic deal within a wider turnaround

The New York announcement follows the turnaround strategy outlined by chief executive Ray Blanchette in January. TGI Fridays hopes to exceed $2 billion in annual revenue and reach 1,000 restaurants by 2030. Those figures are company ambitions, not current results or guaranteed outcomes.

The brand currently has nearly 400 restaurants in almost 40 countries, with fewer than one-quarter of its locations in the United States. That balance helps explain why the New York agreement stands out: it brings US development back into an expansion programme with a substantial international focus.

It was the third development agreement announced by TGI Fridays over the preceding month. The other announcements covered its first restaurants in the Balkans region and an agreement to expand across Pakistan.

Those international agreements provide context, but the New York deal has a distinct role. It addresses the brand’s much-reduced presence in its home market. Whether that becomes a broader pattern will depend on subsequent agreements and, crucially, restaurants opening under the commitments already announced.

What prospective franchisees should watch

For operators following the turnaround, the next useful milestones are practical ones: confirmation of locations, an opening schedule and delivery of the five planned restaurants. The announcement establishes the development relationship, but the available research does not give investment requirements, restaurant-level performance data or the agreement’s detailed terms.

It therefore offers evidence of renewed development activity, rather than a basis for judging the commercial prospects of individual sites. Anyone assessing the opportunity would need to examine those details separately and distinguish the brand’s long-term targets from its present operating footprint.

The practical takeaway: treat the Bliss Bites agreement as a sign of renewed US expansion intent, and track completed openings—not development commitments alone—to assess progress.