Daily News Journal: NEW ORLEANS – Southeast Restaurant Group, which currently operates TGI Fridays restaurants in Alabama and Louisiana, announced last week the purchase of an additional 20 Fridays restaurants, including the Murfreesboro location.
The purchase of these restaurants expands SRG’s existing relationship with TGI Fridays by adding locations in Memphis, Jackson, Murfreesboro and Nashville; Southaven, Gulfport, and Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Huntsville, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Houston, Texas. SRG, an affiliate of the KFK Group, has hired every restaurant employee and is committed to growing the strong relationship TGI Fridays built with patrons, communities, and restaurant team members.
“Substantially increasing our commitment to Fridays represents the continued confidence we have in this great brand and further solidifies our already successful partnership,” said Elie Khoury, president and CEO of KFK Group, parent company of SRG. “We are excited to enter a variety of strong, growing markets and confident our team members will provide guests with the great experience they expect every time they visit TGI Fridays.”
Financing for the acquisition was provided by Fifth Third Bank’s Restaurant Lending Division based in Nashville.
“The opportunity to support a strong franchisee like SRG who is paired with the well-established TGI Fridays brand, reflects Fifth Third’s relationship driven banking style,” Vice President Peter Clifford said. “Restaurant financing is a specialized industry and our group takes pride in providing a specialized approach to each deal.”
SRG’s purchase underscores Fridays move to refranchise the majority of their U.S. corporate-owned restaurants, as recently announced. This initiative will give current and potential franchisees the opportunity to purchase groups of restaurants and will allow the company to focus on brand innovation, marketing and on supporting brand execution.
“Southeast Restaurant Group has proved they are a perfect partner for Fridays, with deep operating experience across a number of leading restaurant brands, including our own,” said TGI Fridays USA President and COO Ricky Richardson. “We look forward to continuing to work with SRG to deliver an ‘In Here, It’s Always Friday’ experience to every guest in every one of their Fridays restaurants.”
