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November 12, 2005

The Friday's Image

There is a lot of new construction near my house, including a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant. I haven't been to a Friday's in years. I remember them as fairly interchangeable with other "casual dining" restaurants, with the quirky faux memorabilia on the walls and a variation-on-a-theme menu.

But Friday's has gone through some changes lately. If you haven't been to one in a while, you might not have heard. First of all, the familiar red and white striped awning is gone, as are many of the familiar quirky items on the wall. The new Friday's exterior looks like Tim Burton may have been consulted. It's not a bad look, and it's aimed at a younger, hipper crowd all around the world, according to the Taipei Times. "Over the next three to five years, all 800 outlets will be remodeled to give the same contemporary and lively tone characterized by a 1960s to 1980s feel."

"We wanted to lighten it up," said Dennis Greer, director of operations in Metro Detroit for T.G.I.Friday's. Well, lighted up is not the feel I had, but they may have managed to look more hip. Interestingly, I didn't see any adults younger than 30, but that may have been because it was Veteran's Day, and most tables had a family with one middle aged to elderly man with a USN ballcap or a flag on his lapel. We'll have to see how this pans out in the long run.

I am vaguely curious to know how much an image change like this affects the likelihood that I will eat at the restaurant. Clearly it can sometimes be expected to work, or companies wouldn't spend the money on renovations. But is it all cosmetic? Can we judge a book by its cover, a blog by its banner, or a restaurant by its new black, red, and steel decor?

But the real issue that prompted me to write is not just cosmetic. While at Friday's, I noted that Jack Daniel's was mentioned on every single page of the menu I was handed. J.D. BBQ sauce seems to have been incorporated onto at least half of the non-dessert items. (Incidentally, I had the Jack Daniel's pulled pork sandwich, and it was delicious.) I found that to be an interesting combination of brand names, and I am curious to know what possible downside there could be to the Friday's chain. Jack Daniel's brand was literally featured more than twice as much as the T.G.I. Friday's logo on the menus, posters, napkins, etc. Is this an upcoming trend in casual dining restaurants? Will we soon see Applebee's featuring Stoli? Jose Cuervo at Chili's? Ruby Tanqueray's? I can't wait to see whether this becomes like when fast food chains were a battleground in the cola wars, or if it becomes more like the new "flair" - cosmetic, ridiculous, and meaningless to the casual dining experience.

A curious note - as we left the restaurant, a pickup truck pulled up, towing a trailer. Truck bed and trailer were full of traditional Friday's quirky memorabilia. Could the Jack Daniel's / Tim Burton phase be over already?

Wulf Posted by Wulf on November 12, 2005 at 11:08 AM

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Comments

I guess just two questions are begging to be asked: Was your waiter's name Brian, and did he have a terrific smile?

Posted by: rammage at November 13, 2005 11:12 AM

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