There’s Only One Place In Texas For TGI Friday’s- And You’ll Need A Ticket

TGI Friday's has a fascinating history- but is the restaurant itself history?

It does seem to be barely hanging on, especially compared to its former success.

And now there's only one place you can visit TGI Fridays in Texas, and you'll need a ticket to be there.

TGI Fridays began nearly 60 years ago in New York. It was one of the very first "singles bars" meaning that both men and women would go there hoping to meet someone new, according to the TGI Fridays Wiki.

It was also one of the first places to have a "ladies' night," that is, cheaper drinks for women so the men would follow. Soon TGI Fridays became so popular that there was a line queue to get in.

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In the 70s, TGI Fridays began franchising into suburbs, and the former rowdy bar became a place for families to enjoy- that is the TGI Fridays I remember. My Texas town no longer has one.

TGI Fridays has had an outsized cultural impact for a chain restaurant- from their bartenders teaching Tom Cruise for the movie Cocktail, to the place being heavily parodied in Office Space by Jennifer Aniston.

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If I wanted to relive the fun (and the flare) of TGI Fridays in Texas, I'd need a ticket- not because of those long lines of yesteryear, but because the only TGI Fridays left in Texas are inside the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

According to Culture Map Fort Worth, the Metroplex had 11 locations before TGI Friday's bankruptcy this year. Now, there are 5 locations- all within walking distance (or those automatic walkway things) from each other.

TGI Fridays once had over 600 locations worldwide; now, it has 163, many outside the U.S.

Thank God It's Friday- but the weekend has to end, eventually.