Greater Manchester's first TGI Fridays was unlike anything customers had seen before
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe late 1980s and early '90s saw a flood of American themed fast-food diners and bars open up across the UK. And while the likes of McDonald's had long established itself on the UK's high streets by this time, the country's appetite for the taste of US cuisine had only become more ravenous.
Another chain that made it to these shores was TGI Fridays, which first opened in New York in 1965 by founder Alan Stillman to help celebrate the weekend, hence its name standing for 'Thank God It's Friday.' Derived originally from the US singles bar culture, it was a place where barmen and women showed off their amazing juggling tricks or "flares", by pouring drinks into shakers from a great height or tossing bottles to each other.
But as the chain developed into the late '80s, the focus of the bar/restaurants switched from singles to families. Read More: Manchester looks like a 'beautiful distant dream' in unearthed photos found following man's death Read More: Manchester's real-life Peaky Blinders only feared one thing Serving American bistro-style cuisine, bar food, and alcoholic beverages, the first New York restaurant featured the same red-and-white striped décor still associated with the brand today.
With the popularity of the chain stateside and the growing desire for American style restaurants in the UK, the first TGI Fridays opened in Birmingham in 1986.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk