Three TGIFridays in California have mysteriously closed, says the SF Chronicle. Employees are stunned.

“We went from contributors to liabilities in about one minute. I guess that is the new way,” said Cesar Arguello, who had been bar manager at the San Bruno restaurant until he and several dozen fellow workers were handed their final paychecks Tuesday morning.

One of the employees interviewed by the paper had worked at the restaurant for 25 years. The circumstances of the closures are mysterious — because they weren’t authorized by TGI Friday’s corporate.

Calls to CNL’s Florida office were not returned. The three closed locations were franchises of TGI Friday’s, a restaurant concept that began in New York in 1965 and has spread to more than 900 locations in 62 countries. The franchise is ultimately owned by Carlson Cos. of Minnetonka, Minn.

“These closures were not authorized by TGI Friday’s Inc. and we are still in the process of gathering facts,” a Carlson spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

Business was apparently down only about 5%.

3 TGI Friday’s restaurants close without notice [SFGate] (Thanks, Glenn!)
(Photo: gavdana )

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