TGI Fridays is closing 36 of its restaurants across the United States, including several in Massachusetts. The ‘underperforming locations’ being closed in the state are in Dedham, Danvers, Marlboro, Mansfield, North Attleboro, and Seekonk, a spokesman for TGI Fridays confirmed to WBZ-TV. A TGI Fridays restaurant in Amherst, New Hampshire is also closing.

According to the American restaurant chain’s website, locations in Boston, Methuen, Millbury, Braintree, North Dartmouth, Stoughton, and Everett remain open. New Hampshire still has TGI Fridays in Concord and Manchester.

The company says it is offering over 1,000 transfer opportunities, covering 80% of employees affected by the closures.

The news comes as TGI Fridays also announced a sale of eight corporate-owned restaurants in the northeast to its former CEO.

‘By strengthening our franchise model and closing underperforming stores, we are creating an unprecedented opportunity for Fridays to drive forward its vision for the future,’ TGI Fridays U.S. President and Chief Operating Officer Ray Risley said in a statement.

The first TGI Fridays opened in 1965 in New York, where it was initially a hot spot for singles. There are more than 650 TGI Fridays restaurants in 51 countries, the company says.

The New England region has seen many casual dining restaurants close their doors in recent years. The Ninety Nine has closed at least six restaurants since 2020. And Friendly’s, founded in Massachusetts in 1935, has shut down about two dozen of its restaurants in the past five years.

Neal J. Riley is a digital producer for CBS Boston. He has been with WBZ-TV since 2014. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe and The San Francisco Chronicle. Neal is a graduate of Boston University.

First published on January 3, 2024 / 12:32 PM EST