TGI Friday’s has launched a new UK version of the concept 23 years after it was brought to Britain, that if successful will be rolled out across its restaurant portfolio.
The site used to launch the revamped format of the brand is on the Hagley Road in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham - the very first TGI Friday’s to open in the UK.
It is also thought that the concept, which includes the first open kitchen at a TGI Friday’s anywhere in the world, may be applied to locations outside of the UK by parent company Carlson Restaurants.
Karen Forrester, UK managing director, told M&C Report: “This is a case of back to the future for TGI Friday’s, creating the same buzz and excitement of 23 years ago.
“The new restaurant is flying. The whole place exudes excitement and energy. This is definitely a conversion vehicle and also gives us the confidence to open new sites.”
Forrester said the open kitchen was designed to let people know that all food is cooked from scratch on site.
She said she was confident that the new version would be applied to the majority of TGI’s 46 UK locations.
The Hagley Road restaurant, which was the first TGI’s to open anywhere in the world outside of America, features a central bar and a new food and cocktail menu. Carlson now has 320 restaurants in 59 countries outside of the US.
TGI Friday’s UK opened a new restaurant at the Trafford Centre in Manchester in November – it’s first new opening for a number of years.
The brand was brought to the UK through a joint venture between Carlson and Whitbread. It is now 100% owned by Carlson after Whitbread sold its stake two years ago.
The Hagley Road location was used for the new template after it was gutted by fire just over a year ago.
