‘Matter of time’: Restaurant that popularized happy hour closes in Pembroke Pines
A casual dining chain known for popularizing “happy hour” across America has seen its final days in Pembroke Pines.
TGI Fridays, located at 90 N. University Drive, has shut the doors of its sole restaurant in the southwest Broward city, leaving locations in Hollywood and Plantation for Broward residents.
An April 27 Instagram post by memorabilia page Flashback South Florida shows several men taking down its signature striped awnings and bright red signage.
“So many happy hours here, man. If you didn’t get hammered at this Fridays, then you didn’t probably live in Pembroke Pines or anywhere near here,” said Matt Leibowitz, who runs the account. “It’s a sad day. ... Another one bites the dust.”
By the next day, TGI Fridays was stripped of its decor and redirecting customers to its sister restaurants, per an April 28 post by events account The Broward Scene.
Closures followed the chain’s bankruptcy filing in late 2024 “to allow the Company to explore strategic alternatives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the brand,” reads a statement from Nov. 2, 2024.
In early 2024, the brand sported 270 locations, CNN reported in April 2025. It’s now down to 76 in the United States, though international expansion into Peru, Japan and the Maldives is slated.
The last day of operation for the Pembroke Pines restaurant is unclear.
TGI Fridays has not responded to the Pembroke Pines News requests for comment as of April 28.
News of the chain’s farewell in southwest Broward garnered mixed reactions, with many sharing on social media that the brand had become irrelevant in recent years:
“Haven’t been to a TGIF Fridays in over a decade,” commented Kel Armstrong under Flashback South Florida’s post.
“Never went but def remember it. It’s not exactly a big surprise it’s closing ... who says ... ’let’s go to TGI Friday’s’,” posted Mike McKay.
“Went there last week. I was the only customer inside. Maybe one or two door dashers came thru but damnnnn those wings were TOP tier,” added one user.
“This place was dead in the area, it was only a matter of time,” wrote another user.
Known coloquially as Fridays, the brand claims it coined the “loaded potato skin” and says its flagship bar in Manhattan — opened in 1965 — was “the first happy hour place for singles to mingle.”
