Under its current ownership, Burger King started to do something kind of revolutionary for a company in the fast food restaurant business: it sold most of its corporate-owned restaurants. That move appears to have worked out well for the King, and now other restaurant chains are trying it as well. Will it work for TGI Friday’s?

The move is just one of many changes that the chain has been making over the last few years, which include the not-so-bold step of taking all of eclectic decorations off the walls and seeking a more modern look. Customers seem to like the change, with remodeled restaurants receiving a traffic boost.

Another innovation is the Endless Appetizers promotion. While the idea has been widely mocked, it has also attracted crowds of hungry youngsters, and the companies report that people in their teens to mid-thirties are now almost one third of customers, compared to just 20% before they started bringing people an endless parade of mozzarella sticks.

TGI Friday’s owns 247 restaurants in the United States and 63 in the United Kingdom, and plans to sell most of them to franchisees. The benefits to the companies can be pretty great: they rake in predictable franchise fees while not having to worry about maintaining physical restaurants or their staff.

TGI Fridays to Sell Most of Its U.S. Company-Owned Outlets [TGI Friday’s]

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