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TGI Fridays is latest chain with Minnesota ties to fail as casual sit-down restaurants languish
(www.startribune.com)
this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2025
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TGIF’s quality, the only thing they had going on for them, took a nosedive in the last decade or so. This was meant to happen, it actually lasted longer than what I expected.
Outback Steakhouse is the next one on my list to fill for bankruptcy.
Looks like a decade on the dot. Whatever loopholes these equity firms are using to strip these businesses of all value and saddle them with debt, while not being responsible for said debt needs to be closed. They'll sell out your entire town to make a buck and not give a damn what it does to you.
A popular method is thus:
Buy the chains, separate the building from the land. Legally speaking.
take out a massive loan using the land as collateral. The chain and not the equity company being liable for said loan. This money is of course pocketed. Often it is enough to repay the investment funds initial play.
Then exorbitant rent is laid upon the restaurant chain, and this is where the end consumer perceives all this going on as "enshitification". The restraints are no longer profitable, every penny gets squeezed. Portions get smaller, restrnt staff get even worse pay.
Some asswipe in a suit will walk away with millions, never having looked one person he screwed over in the eye. You'll never meet him, never enjoy the fruits of his labor.
In his wake you'll find a shell of a company. Somewhere that provided jobs for thousands, and a relaxing night for millions more. I was never a fan of t.g.i. but it deserved better than this. R.I P.