TGI Fridays in Brooklyn, the Last of the Chain's Locations in Ohio, Has Closed

Raise a loaded potato skin and bid your fond farewell to TGI Fridays in Brooklyn, which closed on August 31 after 27 years in business.

It was, notably, the last remaining Ohio location of the chain that once dominated suburbia.

The property currently is listed by Kevin Moss of Cleveland CBRE.

Since filing for bankruptcy two years ago, TGI Fridays has been closing stores at a rapid pace. Approximately 200 locations have closed since that filing, including eight others in Ohio in 2024.

“The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure,” a TGI Fridays executive said in a statement in 2024. “This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential.”

At its peak in the mid-2000s, Fridays had more than 600 locations spread across the United States (and more outside the country). But restaurants began to shutter soon after that zenith, with roughly half of them closing between 2008 and 2023. Only 70 locations still remain.

It wasn’t long ago that every neighborhood had its own TGI Fridays, a haven for loaded potato skins, sizzling chicken and shrimp and Long Island Iced Teas. Those days, at least in Ohio, are behind us. The closest operating TGI Fridays is now Erie, PA.

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