TGI Fridays announced Gold Coast Holdings Restaurants has purchased 49 Fridays restaurants in the Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and upstate New York areas. With the completion of the Gold Coast transaction, Fridays will have refranchised almost 175 restaurants nearly six months earlier than originally planned, making 90 percent of its U.S. restaurants now owned and operated by franchisees. 

"When we launched our refranchising initiative in September 2014, we expected it to take about 18 months to get to this point in the process," says Ricky Richardson, president and chief operating officer of TGI Fridays USA. "We are proud of this accomplishment due to the strong level of interest we received from high-quality existing and new partners, validating the excitement and opportunity for growth we all believe exists for the Fridays brand."

Refranchising the majority of restaurants accelerates Fridays successful re-imaging program and helps grow the brand's presence, with each sale including agreements to contemporize the restaurants and develop additional locations. As part of Gold Coast's acquisition, they have committed to growing Fridays presence in their markets by more than 20 restaurants and will also be re-imaging the current restaurants to the contemporized Fridays look over the next few years.

"We are very excited about our new partnership with TGI Fridays," says Gold Coast Holdings CEO Alfonso Fernandez. "The Fridays brand has a rich heritage, focused on innovation and poised for growth. We look forward to being part of this iconic brand."

"Over the last year, we've looked for strong franchise partners, like Gold Coast, who have a proven track record and a passion for delivering a great guest experience by investing in their people and growing their business," Richardson says. "We're thrilled to bring Gold Coast into the Fridays family."