What is the Full Form of TGIF

TGIF: Thank God/Goodness It's Friday

TGIF stands for Thank God/Goodness It's Friday. The American restaurant chain T.G.I. Fridays, known as FRIDAYS in the U.K., specializes in informal dining and American fare. Although, as of 2010, some television advertising for the franchise has also used the phrase "Thank Goodness It's Friday," the restaurant's creator claimed that the name meant "Thank God It's Friday." T.G.I. Fridays have over 869 locations worldwide, with 297 in the United States. Observed in November 2006 was a T.G.I. Fridays in Manahawkin, New Jersey, which debuted with the updated appearance in 2003. In November 2010, a T.G.I. Friday's opened in Christ Church, Barbados (closed in August 2013).

History

In 1965, Alan Stillman launched the first T.G.I. Friday's location is in New York. He resided in a neighbourhood with numerous airline flight attendants, models, secretaries, and other young, unmarried individuals on the East Side of Manhattan near the Queensboro Bridge on the corner of East 63rd and 1st Avenue. He felt that operating a bar would help him meet women. According to Stillman, at the time there was "no public location for folks between, say, twenty-three and thirty-seven years of age to meet," and his only social options were exclusive cocktail parties or "boy's beer-drinking hangout" bars that women normally wouldn't frequent. Despite having no prior expertise in the restaurant industry, he tried to replicate a cocktail party's relaxed public mood.

He spent $5,000 of his own money and borrowed $5,000 from his friend. After hearing the phrase "Thank God it's Friday!" during his time at Bucknell University, Stillman bought a tavern he frequently frequented, The Good Tavern, at the intersection of 63rd Street and First Avenue, and changed its name to T.G.I. Fridays. The new eatery focused on food quality and preparation and featured basic American fare, bar food, and alcoholic beverages when it opened on March 15, 1965.

The Gay Nineties interior included wooden floors, Bentwood chairs, striped tablecloths, brass rails, and stained glass, while the exterior featured a red-and-white striped awning and blue paint. The young staff members came around to celebrate each person's birthday while wearing red-and-white striped soccer shirts with a cake and the classic birthday song from T.G.I. Fridays. No More Excuses, directed by Robert Downey Jr., included interviews with customers at this T.G.I. Fridays (1968). The brass rails are still present in the original location, which is now a British tavern called "Baker Street," however it closed in 1994.

Even though T.G.I. Fridays and the adjoining pub named after Malachy McCourt predated each other, and Stillman gave the media credit for coining the phrase. He unwittingly founded one of the first bars for singles. It profited from the birth control pill and Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique, being published almost simultaneously.

There may have been something different at the time. Four unmarried 25-year-old girls weren't going out in public on Friday nights before T.G.I. Fridays. For dates or birthday celebrations, they might go to a genuine restaurant. But they didn't go out with each other to a bar for a casual meal and a few drinks because there needed to be a place for them to go. And among themselves, to enjoy ourselves.

Since T.G.I. Fridays were one of the first restaurants to use promotions like ladies night. Stillman was successful in meeting women using phrases like "Do you remember watching Cocktail? Tom Cruise played me! Stillman had questions like "Why do women prefer to go on dates with bartenders? I'm still not sure I understand it." Because 480 stewardesses resided in the apartment complex, he and the restaurant benefited from its position. And earned coverage in national magazines. Next door. T.G.I. Friday's popularity grew to the point where it was necessary to construct ropes to designate a waiting area, which was unusual for a restaurant at the time. Maxwell's Plum, a rival business, started operating across the street, and others soon followed.

Stillman opened more eateries, including Tuesdays, Thursdays, Wednesdays, and Ice Cream Sundays, with fellow Bucknell alumnus Ben Benson. Two years after the Manhattan branch first opened, T.G.I. Fridays began franchising in Memphis, Tennessee's Overton Square neighbourhood but that shop has since closed. Daniel R. Scoggin purchased the rights to eight significant midwestern cities in 1971. He debuted the first brand-new prototype in Dallas in 1972. The company was founded around the raised square bar and multilevel dining.

Standard Dallas outperformed T.G.I. Fridays previous record in both sales and profitability. Families stopped by the new suburban restaurants during the day for fast meals. He merged into the Dallas location of T.G.I. Fridays, Inc., after being drawn in by this performance, Scoggin served as the company's C.E.O. for the following 15 years. The then-new 200-seat prototype and many of T.G.I. Fridays' innovations, such as a sizable menu made entirely from scratch, potato skins, bartender competitions, and frozen beverages, are attributed to Scoggin. TriArtisan acquired Sentinel's remaining share in October 2019.

Origin Of the Phrase "TGIF"

As mentioned in a post titled "Not One-Off Britishisms," the origins of the expression "TGIF" have been contested throughout time. However, it specifically cites a 1941 item in the Encyclopaedia of Slang as the first instance of "TGIF" appearing in print.

A local Ohio newspaper, The Marion Star, is quoted in the article as saying the following: "I thought I had heard of every booster club, alumni group, and similar organisation there is, but this city, the home of the Ohio State university Buckeyes, has created one that surpasses them all. It's the "Thank God It's Friday" Club, and it is made up completely of State undergraduates. The TGIF club meeting typically goes like this...."

This does support the argument that the T.G.I. Friday's restaurant chain, which debuted in New York in 1965, is not where the phrase "TGIF" first appeared. According to Not One-Off Britishisms, the owner of T.G.I. Friday's restaurant is credited for choosing the phrase "Thank God! During his stay at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania's Bucknell University, he frequently heard the phrase "It's Friday! The common usage of the abbreviation is "TGIF."

Today, the shorter form of the phrase "TGIF," is more frequently heard. However, depending on their personal choice and religious views, some people may say, "Thank God It's Friday" or "Thank Goodness It's Friday" when pronouncing the full sentence. It's not surprising that "TGIF" has ingrained itself in popular culture over time, as with many other catchphrases.

Franchises

The majority of the locations of T.G.I. Fridays are owned by franchisees. The Braid Group in New Jersey is the biggest franchisee. A significant international franchisee was Whitbread P.L.C. Whitbread had 45 outlets in the U.K. as of 2007. Whitbread ended a 1986 collaboration when it sold the operational rights to all 45 restaurants to T.G.I. Fridays U.K. Limited (a group made up of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. and A.B.N. Amro Capital).

Additionally, hotels under the Country Inns & Suites by Carlson brand have utilized T.G.I. Fridays as a restaurant. 2014 saw the acquisition of Friday's British business, which has 66 locations across the U.K., by investment trust Electra Private Equity. 2021 saw Electra spin Fridays in the U.K. it is owned by Host more Plc, a company that specializes in hospitality.

Design

In place of Tiffany lights, the most recent T.G.I. Friday's franchises (as well as renovated locations) have wallpaper, granite exteriors, and red-and-white striped lighting. The exteriors are stuccoed. The logo was developed in 2013 in Scotland by Jane MacDowall and her creative team. A propeller and a rowing scull are typically on display at T.G.I. Fridays, as part of their antiquities, the scull always includes a pair of saddle shoes and a bottle of champagne to celebrate special occasions. Remind staff members of the importance of teamwork, leadership, and achievement celebration. Always, the propeller is above or close to the bar. A big menu focusing on alcoholic beverages is available during Menu Fridays.

These drinks are available in liquid and frozen forms, and T.G.I. frequently offers promotions or develops distinctive cocktails based on the time of year and the area. The Atkins moniker was dropped from the Menu in 2006, but the restaurant still serves low-carb and low-fat menu items. Previously, T.G.I. Fridays offered starters, main courses, and desserts that were Atkins-friendly. There are gluten-free options on the U.S. and U.K. menus.

Controversy

Investigators in New Jersey investigated 17 T.G.I. Fridays franchised restaurants operated by The Briad Group in 2013 as part of "Operation Swill." They discovered that while charging customers for the more expensive alcoholic beverages, bars were substituting lower-cost products for premium labels.

T.G.I. Fridays refused to leave the Russian market and join the international community during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. T.G.I. Fridays were placed in the worst category of "Digging In," which stands for Resisting Demands for Exit. Companies defying Demands for Exit, according to research from Yale University that was updated on April 28, 2022, and examined how businesses were responding to Russia's invasion. Requests for departure or a reduction in activities