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TGI Friday’s spin-off bar brand to close this month and disappear from high streets forever
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TGI FRIDAYS spin-off cocktail bar brand 63rd+1st will disappear from high streets when its last venue is closed at the end of the month.
The first 63rd+1st opened in Cobham, Surrey, in May 2021, inspired by the original TGI Fridays restaurant, which opened in Manhattan where 63rd Street meets 1st Avenue.
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It served a New York inspired food and cocktails menu featuring dishes such as buffalo cauliflower wings, burgers, steaks and pizza.
The brand grew to four sites following openings in Harrogate, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but just three years after its launch only the Glasgow venue remains.
Now, TGI Friday’s owner Hostmore has announced the Glasgow site will also be shuttered following a decline in sales.
Loss-making Hostmore has grappled with weaker spending in recent years and said getting rid of the cocktail bar brand would boost its earnings in the future.
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Hostmore, which has 85 TGI Fridays restaurants across the UK, revealed that sales over the year to mid-May 2024 were a tenth lower than the same period the previous year, on a like-for-like basis.
Nevertheless, it had seen its results pick up in recent months as a result of a restructuring process.
The company previously said it was weighing up opportunities to shut restaurants that were losing it money and had taken steps to improve the performance of 20 struggling sites.
In May 2023 it had closed a loss-making site in Manchester, and four months later the group announced it would not open any new restaurants until at least 2025.
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Why are so many pubs and bars closing?
Earlier this year, Hostmore agreed a deal with to merge with US-based TGI Fridays Inc, to create a larger firm which will remain listed in London.
Today (June 3) Hostmore said it had received interest from a number of lenders to provide financing for the new combined group, and it was currently working with one to agree a package of support.
The merger is expected to be completed before the end of September.
Restaurant chains continue to feel the pinch
The hospitality sector has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic, facing challenges including soaring energy bills, inflation and staff shortages.
Some well-known retailers have shut a handful of branches, while others have disappeared from the high street for good.
In January 2023, Byron Burger fell into administration with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Italian dining chain Prezzo revealed plans to shut 46 restaurants back in April 2023 as a result of soaring energy and food costs, putting 810 jobs at risk.
TRG, which owned Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and Wagamama, revealed that it would shut down around 40 sites by April 2024 and went on to sell its Frankie & Bennys and Chiquito brands to Cafe Rouge owner The Big Table group.
Pizza giant, Papa Johns is shutting down 43 of its stores soon.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shut sites as part of major restructuring plans.
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Stonegate, has also raised fears about its survival as it races to plug its debts.
Whitbread recently revealed plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants across the UK.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre's director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is "less bad" than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
"The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend," Prof Bamfield said.
"Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult."
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023's biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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