TGI Fridays has always been about fun and socializing. After all, the casual restaurant brand started out as perhaps the first singles bar when it opened in New York 51 years ago.
The way people socialize, eat and drink has changed, though, and TGI Fridays is evolving to meet the needs of modern guests. That means embracing busy consumers’ digital connections with better WiFi, Instagram-worthy fare and a coffee-shop vibe with comfortable places for guests to sit and work or gather for fun.
Customers today—particularly the all-important Millennials—seek shared, social activities that let them connect with friends while making new acquaintances. But it’s not easy to get the younger consumers out of their houses, so Fridays has several initiatives to attract guests and keep them returning.
“We are on an ongoing innovation journey,” says Matt Durbin, vice president of concept development at Fridays. “We continue to evolve our brand for our guests,” who already recognize the chain as a place for social occasions, he notes.
Fridays in March opened a freshly redesigned location in Corpus Christi, TX, with new features such as a common area designed like a coffee shop, complete with grab-and-go food items, multi-bar areas that serve fresh juices and coffee, and a stronger Wi-Fi network. The revamped Corpus Christi unit, along with a location in Farmingville, NY, will serve as testing grounds for greater rollouts.
Lightening Up
TGI Fridays restaurants are known for the red-and-white awning motif, red leather seats and busy, dark wood interiors. You won’t find any of that at the Corpus Christi prototype.
Instead, blond wood, modern design aesthetics and lots of natural light characterize the space. Community tables with comfortable seating for about 40 to 50 people offer plenty of space for hanging out.
“Social” is a major focus in the Fridays brand evolution: Guests can sit in the common area and work on their laptops or congregate there with a cocktail before eating, or hang around after a meal with for drinks. Large groups have also used these spaces for parties or other events, says Durbin.
Food and drink for sale in these areas also reflects coffee bars. This includes prepackaged sandwiches, salads, parfaits, cookies, brownies and an expanded coffee menu, including freshly ground options.
“Coffee is so hot right now, and coffee houses are such a great place to socialize,” Durbin says. “We wanted to tap into that trend.
Upgraded Wi-Fi is key to the concept. “Customers are constantly socializing with the people in front of them and also the people in their networks through their smartphones,” Durbin says.
“Beefing up our Wi-Fi is an opportunity to provide consumers better access to the networks and ways of socializing that they were already using,” he adds.
Digital upgrades go beyond the common area. Fridays is in the early stages of rolling out handheld tablets that servers will use to take orders. This will simplify the process, Durbin says, allowing food and drink to reach tables faster.
Hangover Brunch
The reimagined Fridays restaurants offer something for customers who perhaps partied a little too hard the evening before—or just anyone who enjoys a hearty brunch with a boozy twist.
The new Hangover Brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It “fits into our social wheelhouse,” Durbin explains. This program features stylized takes on the heavier brunch fare that groggier guests typically prefer after a big night out.
For instance, Bourbon Steak & Eggs ($14.10) includes an 8-oz. flat iron steak, smoked over bourbon-infused wood plank, with eggs cooked to order, and sides.
There’s also the Bucket O’Bacon ($5), with eight slices of hickory-glazed bacon, served with chipotle maple syrup; and Bears N’ Berries Waffle ($10), with freshly sliced strawberries, fresh blueberries and mini Teddy Graham crackers, drizzled with creamy cheesecake batter.
The Hangover Stacked Burger ($12) is beer-braised sausage and onions, Asiago, Parmesan and cheddar cheeses between two fresh burgers topped with American cheese, hickory glazed bacon and an over-easy egg, with maple aioli, iceberg lettuce on a freshly baked bun.
Bloody Good
The centerpiece of the Hangover Brunch is the Abso-Bloody-Lutely, made with Fridays’ own Bloody Mary mix, Absolut vodka, smoked salt for the rim, and garnishes of celery, bleu- cheese-stuffed olive, grape tomato and fresh lime.
The drink can come with one, two, or three meat skewers (priced at $10, $13, $15, respectively). The skewer options are buffalo wings, bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeños, and “Jack” sliders, which comes with a small bag of fries.
This Bloody Mary cocktail, along with other hard drinks, is sold in states where alcohol is legal at brunch. The colorful drink with multiple meat skewers has found its way into many Facebook or Instagram feeds.
“It’s been an item that is very Instagram share-worthy,” Durbin says. “It gets a lot of heads turned towards it. The first thing that guests do when they get it is take a photo for their social networks.”
Although the Abso-Bloody-Lutely was not specifically designed with social media in mind, creating eye-catching products remains an emphasis at Fridays, Durbin says. That these head-turning items frequently turn up online is a bonus in the social focus of Fridays. “We want our food to be highly visual and share-worthy with friends and on social platforms, as part of the overall experience,” Durbin says.
Other Hangover Brunch cocktail include The Maxmosa, with LaMarca prosecco, freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice and vanilla in a smoothie. The brown-spirits boom is reflected in the Honey Bourbon Flip: Wild Turkey 101 bourbon, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, organic agave, egg and ground nutmeg.
The decadent brunch cocktails notwithstanding, Fridays is also emphasizing healthier drinks. “Consumers today, Millennials especially, are looking for healthier options,” Durbin says. “This was a natural opportunity to extend our presence and credibility into freshly squeezed juices.”
The brunch menu focuses on these juices and smoothies, which sell for $4. The Paradise Punch is a puree of orange juice, pineapple juice and guava, while the Sex on the Peach smoothie includes carrot juice, peach purée, organic agave, lime juice, lemon juice and fresh basil.
“Fridays always goes back to being a great bar, so it is important for us to provide great-tasting drinks that leverage fresh ingredients,” Durbin says.
All About That Bar
Indeed, the bar has always been important to the brand, ever since Alan Stillman opened the first TGI Fridays on New York’s Upper East Side in 1965. Stillman wanted to create a place specifically for socializing with the stewardess and models who lived in the neighborhood.
Fridays, which is jointly owned by private equity firms Sentinel Capital Partners and Tri-Artisan Capital Partners, today operates more than 900 restaurants in nearly 60 countries.
Durbin points out that Fridays is the only national brand of its size that hosts an annual global bartender competition, now 25 years running. He would know: Durbin was the 1994 Fridays World Bartender Championship winner.
He transitioned into management and is now responsible for all concept and menu innovation at Fridays. Durbin has also held marketing leadership roles with E&J Gallo and Fox and Hound Restaurant Group.
“We’ve always believed that the bar is the center of the restaurant,” he says, “both physically and in terms of providing the energy, atmosphere and profitability.”
The chain makes fresh in-house cocktail mixers every day, Durbin notes. For example, the BFM (Best Fridays Margarita) is made with Patron Silver tequila, Grand Marnier, and proprietary house-made fresh agave sour mix.
The Ultimate Casamigos Strawberry ’Rita, is made with Casamigos blanco tequila, Cointreau, fresh strawberries, and Fridays’ blend of organic agave with fresh lemon and lime juice.
“The premiumization trend has been among the most pervasive changes in cocktails in the past 15 to 20 years,” Durbin says. “We are continuing to provide access to premium ingredients” in the beverage program.
The classic Long Island Ice Tea is also a consistent bestseller, Durbin says. Fridays makes it with Smirnoff vodka, Bacardi rum, Bombay gin, triple sec, brandy, Fridays original sweet & sour, Coke and fresh lemon.
In line with Fridays’ social theme are the BFD Shareables. These are Big Fridays Drinks, served in a 38-oz. glass with giant straws, intended for two. Flavors include Barbados Rum Punch, Crown Apple Cooler, Peach Sangria and Frozen Margarita.
Fridays has also introduced mini cocktails. These typically sell for $5 to $6 and include the Pink Punk Martini, with Skyy vodka, cotton candy, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, fresh lime. The Fresh Strawberry Daiquiri mini is made with Captain Morgan spiced rum, fresh lime, muddled fresh strawberries, passion fruit purée, organic agave and lemon juice.
“These drive trial and have great margins,” Durbin explains. “They fit into our ‘Happy Every Hour’ platform, which is something we use to try premium drinks at a limited-time price point.”
The Happy Every Hour menu also includes low prices for bar staples such as Bud Light ($3), Jameson Irish whiskey ($5), Fireball Cinnamon Whisky ($4) or a mini Long Island Iced Tea ($4).
Getting Crafty
Craft beer has been on Fridays’ radar for several years, Durbin says, and the chain is fully embracing this hot category as part of the rebranding. Individual locations of Fridays will now have more leeway in designing their own craft lineup.
The typical Fridays has 12 to 16 taps. A number of these will always be allocated for top-selling macro brands, including Bud Light, Miller Light, Dos Equis, and big-name craft beers such as Sam Adams, Blue Moon, Abita. But the rest of the taps can reflect local brews.
For instance, the Corpus Christie location recently had a blonde ale on tap from Lazy Beach Brewing Co., which is located less than 10 miles away. Corpus Christie also poured the Karbach Weisse Versa Wheat Hefeweizen, and the Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Kolsch. Both craft brews are from Houston, bringing a local Texas flavor to the chain.
Further incorporating local craft, the new concepts host Tap Takeovers Tuesdays. These weekly showcases pour multiple beers from area microbreweries, at discounted prices when possible.
“We appreciate craft beer, and want to support and help drive businesses for local breweries,” Durbin says.
This focus has expanded elsewhere in the beverage program. “We see and are incorporating a trend towards authentic and local flavors in spirits, as well,” Durbin says, “such as Tito’s vodka or Deep Eddy vodka in Texas.”
Fun and Games
After working a long day, many guests want to unwind at night with interesting and engaging social activities—especially on weekends. And they are not averse to staying out late if they’re having fun. So bars and restaurants with the right nighttime events can capture significant, consistent revenue from the late-night crowd.
“This is at the heart of our promotions,” Durbin explains. “The number-one thing that Millennials are looking for is fun social experiences.”
Fridays is offering more activities for the guests who want to stay out later, such as “Lip Sync Showdown,” which is a take on karaoke night, Durbin explains. “This gets posted and shared all over social media.”
The lip sync aspect encourages participation from the vocally-challenged guests. And it plays into a popular trend in TV shows and talk-show bits, in which competitors (often celebrities) go toe-to-toe in lip-sync battles.
Also in the new late-night lineup is a trivia night that “asks relevant, pop-culture” questions, Durbin says. Some trivia competitions can turn off participants with obscure and outdated questions.
To ensure that its contests are contemporary and culturally relevant, Fridays partners with local trivia companies to come up with questions with a uniquely Fridays spin.
Tapping into Millennials’ love of nostalgia, Fridays will roll out a “simple game night” that focuses on board games and similar activities, Durbin says. The restaurant also offers live music and DJs on the weekends.
Mobilizing the Couch Potatoes
To give guests a reason to come in and enjoy a meal at Fridays, the chain in May announced a Dine & Drink menu, which was available through June 19 at participating restaurants. The deal gives customers an entree and drink—alcoholic or non-alcoholic—for $12.
What’s more, the Dine & Drink menu offers pairing suggestions based on trending entrees and flavors so guests can “choose-their-own-culinary-adventure” by mixing and matching food and beverages.
For instance, the Sriracha Shrimp Naan’wich might be suggested with seasoned fries and a Blackberry Margarita.
Robust WiFi, couches, games and special offers might tempt some guests to venture into the restaurant. The trick is getting them to keep coming out and choosing Fridays.
The food and drinks are central to the experience, Durbin notes. “As much as we talk about the great atmosphere in our restaurants, it’s equally important that we provide food and beverages that appeal to the eyes as well as taste buds.”
Kyle Swartz is associate editor of Cheers Magazine. Reach him at kswartz@epgacceleration.com
