TGI Fridays is back in the headlines. CEO Ray Blanchette has positioned 2026 as the year of its ‘UK revival!’ Déjà-vu? I think so. We know from history, especially with this brand, that revivals are easier to promise than deliver. This is especially the case with casual dining restaurants that are still fighting to claw back consumers post-pandemic and with shifts like GLP-1 usage reshaping appetites.
So how can brands like TGI Fridays win back consumers when “history and legacy,” as Ray puts it, no longer carry the same weight?
The reality is: legacy alone won’t drive a comeback. Neither will history. The priority has to be the product.
An outdated proposition
While legacy and nostalgia can be powerful tools, they can also be dangerous. Nostalgia softens the edges, it makes the past feel simpler (and often better!) than it really was. Legacy fosters an environment of complacency, making it harder to question the past or envision something brighter in the future.
This rings true for TGI Fridays, which has had a rocky history since its 1990s heyday. While the chain may have once appeared to reign supreme in casual dining, the reality is that its dominance quickly disintegrated in the early 2000s as the industry exploded with choice, from Applebee’s to Frankie and Benny’s.
And it’s not just about choice. As the middle classes have gradually shrunk, mid-market casual dining has followed. People have increasingly opted for the cheap and cheerful – think McDonald’s – or traded up for more premium experiences like Shake Shack. There is far less space for anything in between.
Alongside these market shifts, there are cultural shifts at play, too. When the chain landed in the UK, “Thank God it’s Friday” meant something. Work culture has since evolved. A lot. Hustle culture has given way to flexibility and self-care. Burnout is no longer worn as a badge of honour.
Ultimately, TGI Fridays’ proposition feels increasingly out of step. Consumer expectations have fundamentally changed. When looking towards the future, that’s a reality we simply cannot ignore. And once you peel back cultural, business and marketing shifts, we are still left with one fundamental issue: the food.
The real fix: product, quality and focus
Having begun his career in the chain’s Philadelphia kitchen back in 1989, Ray will know just how difficult it is to market one’s way out of a product problem.
Right now, TGIF’s menu feels outdated. It’s too broad, and it’s too brown. It’s so meat-heavy it feels out of touch, even to meatheads. On top of that there are too many options and close to zero distinction. In a market that increasingly rewards specialisation, this jack-of-all-trades approach makes it so much harder for the brand to stand out or be remembered. It’s a product issue that isn’t going to be solved by mindlessly adding ‘some appetisers, margaritas and Long Island iced teas’.
With rising health consciousness and GLP-1 usage shifting eating habits, TGI’s positioning feels especially at odds. The lack of distinction is only further amplified visually. The menu’s greasy, brown palette renders much of the food indistinguishable at first glance.
Look at the brands that are winning. Five Guys, Wingstop and Shake Shack have built trust by honing in on a core product or proposition and executing it brilliantly, every time. They know what they stand for and so do their consumers. That clarity is powerful and your best chance at building lasting memory structures.
The marketing failure: visuals, brand and culture
Even if the food improves, the brand is still held back by how it shows up on social media. As seen in this Instagram post, or even this, the visuals are questionable, and that’s being kind. Pro tip: if you’re going to share user generated content of food, you need to make it look good. Also, in the non-UGC posts, there is no identity in presentation, styling, or photography, and no consistent brand cues or emotional pull.
In 2026, this matters more than ever. People choose where to eat using their phones before they ever walk into a place. If the food does not stand out, it may as well not exist.
While there is some evidence of TGIF’s leveraging meme culture and trending topics – such as Bieberchella – to build emotional connections with consumers, it’s less about chasing trends or forcing relevance and more about building consistency and recognisability. Follow trends and you’ll end up looking different each time.
TGI Fridays has got to get back to the basics. Firstly, find the thing you uniquely do best. You can’t be the Everything Bagel in fast casual dining. Present the food in a way that is unmistakably yours, be intentional about every visual detail and build campaigns that create feeling, not just awareness. Understand how culture works now, not how it worked years ago. Do less, for longer.
This is not just about running a restaurant. It’s about making people care again. Fix this, and “Thank God it’s Friday” might actually mean something again.
In 2012, Olaf van Gerwen co-founded Chuck Studios, the first global food-specialist creative production company. Chuck Studios is headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in London, Berlin and Los Angeles. The company helps brands around the globe develop a distinct culinary identity. Clients include McDonald’s, KFC, Heineken, AB Inbev, Molson Coors, Unilever, Mondelez, KraftHeinz, Nestlé, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, The Coca Cola Company, PepsiCo and many more. Olaf van Gerwen has won all sorts of advertising awards like Lions, Epica’s and Effies, before specialising in food advertising. He has shot 500+ commercials in 30+ countries and is still going strong. He loves golden age hiphop and drum&bass.
