TGI Fridays debuts biggest menu update since the ‘90s

Dive Brief:

TGI Fridays on Tuesday launched its Grilled & Sauced menu, which allows customers to mix and match sauces and proteins, the company said in a press release.
Guests can pick from six grilled proteins and a range of nine sauces and rubs, and select two sides from at least nine options.
Brandon Coleman III, president of TGI Fridays U.S., said in a statement that this is the biggest update to the chain’s menu since it added Whiskey Glaze in the 1990s.

Dive Insight:

Updating menus could help boost full-service restaurant traffic, which was down 1% during the first quarter, according to Circana data. TGI Fridays joins a handful of casual chains, including IHOP, Denny’s and Chili’s, that have recently updated their menus to improve food quality and competitiveness. Red Robin also hired a new VP of culinary and beverage innovation earlier this year to help the chain improve its menu offerings.

TGI Fridays’ Grilled & Sauced menu includes a sustainably raised salmon, a half or whole rack of slow-cooked ribs, two five-ounce grilled chicken breasts, an eight-ounce flat iron steak, a six-ounce center cut sirloin or a 12-ounce New York Strip. These proteins are cooked over a fire on an open-air char-broiler grill.

Sauces include Spiked Orange Glaze made with Hennessy, al pastor, Korean Red Chile, Nashville Hot, a dry rub, Apple Butter BBQ, Signature Whiskey-Glaze, Jamie Foxx’s Foxx on the Roxx BBQ and Whiskey-Glaze Blaze. These menu items are available for dine-in, pickup or delivery at participating restaurants nationwide.

TGI Fridays also developed a range of five new cocktails to complement the Grilled & Sauced menu, per the press release.

In addition to these new menu items, TGI Fridays is also in the midst of several operational changes, including the resignation of its CEO Ray Blanchette after more than four years in the role. As the company searches for a new chief executive, Rohit Manocha, chairman of the board and co-founder of TGI Fridays’ primary investor, is taking on Blanchette’s role. TGI Fridays also updated its rewards program last month, combining several loyalty tiers and making some items cost more points.