TGI Fridays in Huber Heights permanently closed

For the second time in three days, TGI Fridays has shut down a Dayton-area restaurant, leaving only one remaining.

The TGI Fridays at 2022 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Miami Twp. closed permanently effective today, Sept. 6, two days after the Labor Day shutdown of the chain’s restaurant at 7777 Old Troy Pike (Ohio 202) in Huber Heights.

In both cases, a spokeswoman for the Bistro Group — the Cincinnati-based franchise owner of TGI Fridays’ Dayton-area restaurants — said lease negotiations were the primary factor in the decision to shut down.

“The decision was based on not being able to come to favorable lease negotiations for both parties,” Daryl Beckles, human resource director for the Bistro Group, told this news outlet today, regarding the Dayton Mall location.

“A very difficult decision and a sad day for our company.”

There are no plans to shut down the remaining TGI Fridays restaurant near the Mall at Fairfield commons in Beavercreek, Beckles said.

Together, the two restaurant closings affected about 100 employees — 48 in Huber Heights, and more than 50 in the Dayton Mall location, Beckles said.

Some employees were offered positions at other TGI Fridays locations, and some were offered severance, the human resources director said. Some employeeos had arranged for jobs at other restaurants in the region, she said.

“These decisions are never easy on our team members, and we do try to make the transition as seamless as possible for both our team members and managers,” Beckles said Tuesday regarding the Huber Heights restaurant closure.

A TGI Fridays in the Polaris center in Columbus shut down in the spring. Several casual-dining chains, including Applebees and Max & Erma’s, have closed locations in recent years in the Dayton area.