French Fries All Day

New restaurant in Deep Ellum Dallas will be french fries all the time

French fries in the morning, french fries in the evening.

Photo courtesy of #getfried

French fries are about to rule Dallas and, eventually, all of Texas with the arrival of a new restaurant concept in Deep Ellum that's dedicated to french fries. Called Get Fried, it'll open at 2656 Main St. in early 2018.

Get Fried was established in 2015 in Buffalo, New York, and has big plans for 2018, with several more openings in the works, including locations in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio — nearly all of the cities where CultureMap has offices. The only CultureMap city without a Get Fried planned is Fort Worth. What, Get Fried, no fries for FW?

The menu has six versions of french fries: hand-cut, seasoned waffle, coated straight cut, curly, sweet potato, and funnel. You choose a fry and then a sauce, from more than a dozen selections that include ketchup, malt vinegar, chipotle mayo, and maple syrup.

You can get "topped" baskets, in which fries are topped with ingredients like bacon, pulled pork, and shredded chicken. A sweet version has sweet potato fries topped with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and cinnamon. Texas cheese fries has cheese, bacon, chive, and chili powder.

There is also poutine, the famed Canada french fry dish topped with cheese curds and gravy; and a few non-FF items such as chicken fingers; Buffalo chicken; and pizza logs, consisting of pepperoni wrapped in dough with a side of marinara.

Get Fried was founded by Chris Covelli, who was inspired by the french fry cafes he saw on a trip to Amsterdam. He'd also heard about Canada's famed poutine shops. He saw an opportunity.

He and his entrepreneurial partner Garrett Green opened their first store in February 2015 in Buffalo, New York. There are now two corporately owned stores in Buffalo, with more franchises teed up for New York City and Texas.

The Dallas branch is going into a spot advantageously positioned across the street from BBQ juggernaut Pecan Lodge. The location has been home to fine restaurants such as ~~Pepe's Ranch~~ Nairobi Grill, but has had no luck keeping a tenant.

Deep Ellum did have a Belgian-style french fry offering when Amsterdam Falafelshop opened on Commerce Street in 2016; sadly, it closed in July. But that was probably partially due to the fact that it opened with a strong profile as a vegan-friendly place. French fries will likely not be as troubling to the carnivores.

Get Fried first hit Texas in 2016 with a San Antonio franchise. Local franchisor Muhammad Abdullah says that Texas is on track for french fries everywhere. "We already have a food truck in San Antonio, and all of the big cities in Texas will have stores open by the end of the first quarter of 2018," he says.

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TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy, all 6 Dallas locations now closed

TGI Fridays

Restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection on November 2, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches in 2024.

The Dallas-based company's Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for an iconic chain that was once near the center of American pop culture but has seen its customer base dwindle as tastes changed.

TGI Fridays executive chairman Rohit Manocha said in a statement that the challenges were a result of COVID-19.

"The next steps announced today are difficult but necessary actions to protect the best interests of our stakeholders, including our domestic and international franchisees and our valued team members around the world," Manocha said. "The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure. This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential."

Until recently, Dallas-Fort Worth had 11 locations including five at DFW Airport. Those airport locations are the only ones still open. The remaining six are all now closed — some closures very recent, most after being in business for a decade or more: 4951 Belt Line Rd. in Addison; 311 N. Clark St. in Cedar Hill, southwest of Dallas; 3700 Towne Crossing Blvd. in Mesquite; and 220 Cornflower Dr. at Firewheel Town Center in Garland.

A Plano location at 2444 Preston Rd. closed in 2022 and is now home to Rise Souffle, while the flagship in Dallas' West End at 1713 Market St. closed in 2020 after 32 years.

Privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, TGI Fridays has been a beloved dining destination since its inaugural bar opened in Manhattan in 1965. It expanded over the following decades to become a ubiquitous suburban gathering spot known for its ribs, potato skins topped with cheese and bacon, and a decor bedecked with red stripes and Tiffany-style lamps.

The company has boasted that its bartenders trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 film Cocktail, while its serving staff's button-filled uniforms, meant to evoke a fun atmosphere, were later parodied in the 1999 satire Office Space, starring Jennifer Aniston.

Its empire peaked in 2008 with 601 restaurants in the U.S. and a $2 billion business, according to Kevin Schimpf, director of industry research at Technomic. Its sales in the U.S. were $728 million in 2023, down 15% from the prior year, according to Technomic.

It now counts 163 restaurants in the U.S., down from 269 last year and 213 from a week ago. It closed 36 in January and dozens more in the past week. TGI Fridays Inc. said it only owns and operates 39 restaurants in the U.S, a fraction of the 461 TGI Fridays-branded restaurants around the world.

A separate entity, TGI Fridays Franchisor, owns the intellectual property and has franchised the brand to 56 independent owners in 41 countries. Those are independently owned and not part of the Chapter 11 process, and remain open.

A United Kingdom-based franchisee, Hostmore, also sought debt protection in September and abruptly closed locations throughout that country after a failed takeover deal to acquire TGI Fridays.

During the pandemic TGI Fridays made an effort to expand into the delivery market by making itself a hub for ghost kitchens, which have no storefront and only prepare food for delivery. Among the major creditors owed money by TGI Fridays is the delivery service DoorDash, according to Saturday's bankruptcy court filings.

Sit-down chain restaurants more broadly have faced challenges in recent years as diners choose to get food delivered or visit upscale fast-food chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack. In September a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a reorganization plan for the seafood chain Red Lobster after years of mounting losses. Italian American food chain Buca di Beppo filed for bankruptcy protection in August. PAnother iconic U.S. sit-down restaurant, Denny's, announced in October that it is closing 150 of its lowest-performing restaurants in an effort to turn around the brand’s flagging sales. Wendy’s is also closing up to 140 restaurants, according to a statement from The Wendy's Co. on October 31.