He lived on 63rd Street between First and York Avenues,[11] in a neighborhood with many airline stewardesses, fashion models, secretaries, and other young, single people on the East Side of Manhattan near the Queensboro Bridge.

Stillman's choices for socializing were non-public cocktail parties or guys' beer-drinking hangout bars that women usually would not visit; he recalled that "there was no public place for people between, say, twenty-three to thirty-seven years old, to meet."

It benefited from the near-simultaneous availability of the birth-control pill and Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique:[13][12][11] I don't think there was anything else like it at the time.

They went to people's apartments for cocktail parties or they might go to a real restaurant for a date or for somebody's birthday, but they weren't going out with each other to a bar for a casual dinner and drinks because there was no such place for them to go.

[11]TGI Fridays was one of the first to use promotions such as ladies' night,[13] and Stillman achieved his hopes of meeting women; "Have you seen the movie Cocktail?

"[11] He and the restaurant benefited from its location—according to Stillman, 480 stewardesses lived in the apartment building next door[12]—and received publicity in national magazines.

TGI Fridays became so popular that it had to install ropes to create an area for those waiting in line, also unusual at the time for a restaurant.

[11] With fellow Bucknell University graduate Ben Benson,[14] Stillman opened other restaurants, including Tuesday's, Thursday's, Wednesday's, and Ice Cream Sunday's.

Scoggin is credited with the then-new 200 seat prototype and many of the TGI Fridays innovations including a large from-scratch menu, potato skins, bartender Olympics, and frozen drinks.

By the time Scoggin departed in 1986, the company had widened its appeal: alcohol consumption was de-emphasized, and quality was emphasized over quantity.

[citation needed] A brand extension, combining the TGI Fridays concept with the atmosphere of a sports bar, called "Fridays Front Row Sports Grill", is found at two Major League Baseball stadiums which each overlook the playing field: Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona and Miller Park in Milwaukee.

[citation needed] There was also a Friday's Front Row Grill for a few seasons at Globe Life Park, then the Texas Rangers home field.

[7] In October 2009, Haymarket broke the world record for biggest profit made in any week, throughout TGI Fridays' history, and it has been home to several past winners from the bartenders Olympics, a contest started by Scoggin.

[23] Allegro Merger began working towards taking Fridays public in 2019, buying it away from MFP Partners and TriArtisan Capital,[24][25] but withdrawing in April 2020.

[31] Despite initial plans to open up to thirty other branches,[30] it remained the sole example[32] until it closed in October 2024 following the sale of the bankrupt UK franchise.

[44] On October 19, 2024, TGI Fridays announced it was seeking financing as it warned that it was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States within the coming weeks.

[citation needed] In 2014 the investment trust Electra Private Equity bought Fridays' British subsidiary with 66 sites across the UK.

[44] The newer TGI Fridays franchises (as well as redesigned restaurants) are more contemporary, with wallpaper, granite exteriors, and red-and-white striped lamps instead of Tiffany.

Most TGI Fridays have a propeller and a rowing scull on display as part of their antiques, which are actually a part of a story told to all TGI Fridays employees; the scull always contains a pair of saddle shoes and a bottle of champagne to remind employees of the value of teamwork, leadership, and celebrating success.