Metro East staple of nearly 30 years shutters, blindsides dozens of workers
The TGI Fridays in Fairview Heights closed permanently this week with no warning to staff.
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. (First Alert 4) - A sign on the door of a longtime Metro East staple Thursday is turning customers away and leaving employees with more questions than answers.
“After 24 years, this is how I found out I no longer have a job,” Shannon Bernheisel said.
Frustration started Tuesday when employees at TGI Fridays in Fairview Heights on North Illinois Street began showing up for their shifts only to find a sign on the door that read:
“Thank you for 28 great years! This location is closed permanently.”
Several employees tell First Alert 4 they feel blindsided.
“I always thought when I left or retired, there would be some sort of going-away party or celebration,” Bernheisel said. “I never thought I would go this way.”
One employee even worked Monday night, unknowingly working her last shift.
“We had guests - it was kinda busy,” Jessy Boyle, who worked there for 13 years, said. “Tax season usually brings in more people.”
First Alert 4 saw several potential customers stop by around lunchtime Thursday. They turned around when they saw the sign on the door.
“That’s just a shame,” one customer said.
The closure comes as other restaurant chains struggle nationwide. Outback Steakhouse have recently made national headlines, closing dozens of locations in recent months, citing shrinking profits.
In similar fashion, TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy last year, shutting down dozens of restaurants as a result. The Fairview Heights location is privately owned and not part of the corporate bankruptcy filing, according to court documents.
Bernheisel was told being privately owned and operated as a franchise was a good thing.
“We were told, ‘we’re privately owned, there’s no worries,‘” Bernheisel said. “I absolutely feel like I was lied to. And let down.”
She says giving a warning to their workers wasn’t a priority for the higher-ups. First Alert 4 checked - Illinois law doesn’t require notice of closure to employees for smaller businesses.
While employees say they assume lower foot traffic led to the closure, First Alert 4 checked property records and found the building is owned by a company based in Kentucky. We left messages for several phone numbers associated with the company’s address and are waiting to hear back.
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