Albin Rännar, vice president of TGI Friday’s and Tony Challma, president, outside TGI Fridays in Kungsträdgården.
Pekka Pääkkö
The move from Kungsträdgården lowered the flagship. Swedish Thank god it’s Friday has been declared bankrupt.
– It feels too damn good. Very sad, says vice president Albin Rännar.
When the rent tripled, TGI Friday’s in Kungsträdgården closed. Soon after, the restaurant in Gamla stan was also closed down. The franchisees flagged the concern that the other restaurants would not be able to cope without the flagship in Kungsträdgården.
Last Friday, the company behind the Swedish rights to TGIF was declared bankrupt and the staff has been laid off.
– Now it has come to the point that it is no longer possible. It is left to a bankruptcy trustee. It is a great pity that it has come to the end of the road, says vice president Albin Rännar.
No outdoor seating this summer
So far, it is unclear what will happen to the restaurants in Täby, Uppsala and Malmö. They are relatively new and were profitable enough.
The restaurant chain has a turnover of around SEK 100 million.
– Everything was based on there being a stable core in Kungsträdgården, a locomotive that pushed on while the other units started up. It’s like removing the locomotive from a train. It stops completely.
As for the premises in Kungsträdgården, Albin Rännar does not think that anything new will open or there will be any outdoor seating by the fountain before the summer. The dilapidated premises are in need of refurbishment and renovation.
The lawsuit TGIF planned against the property owner Jakob Johansson and the company Maelir will not go away.
– No such process has been initiated. There are only losers in this business it seems. It’s sad, says Albin Rännar.
If you want fried chicken on Friday, you can’t go to Kungsträdgården anymore. After the triple rent increase, TGI Friday’s has served the last meal.
– The flagship is sinking. You get sad, says owner Tony Challma.
Kungsträdgården
The main entrance is closed and vans ready to assist in the last few days are parked on the pavement along Hamngatan.
It’s TGIF’s penultimate day and guests are ushered in through a glass door on the side.
The franchisees sit at one of the booths with a window facing Kungsträdgården. They shake their heads.
– It’s too damned. Fridays has been here for 25 years. Up to a hundred people will lose their jobs, says Tony Challma.
In 2022, property owner Jakob Johansson bought the site from Apple and decided to raise the rent from around SEK 5.5 to just over SEK 15 million per year. TGIF opposed the increase, partly because of the poor condition of the premises.
Despite various attempts at mediation, it has resulted in the restaurant having to leave the premises.
Waiters run back and forth with hamburgers, fried chicken and salads. The big sellers.
– It feels very difficult that it is closing. This was my first job when I came to Sweden, says head chef Mehmet Savan, who has worked here for nine years.
A few meters away, the sewer stinks from the stairs down to the basement. The property is seriously neglected. Problems that the owner and tenant have long disagreed about who is responsible for.
Tony Challma points to flooded floor drains, water damaged walls, black mold and ceiling tiles discolored by leaking toilets.
– The drains and the grease separator are broken. There are also problems with the runoff of waste water and grease.
Best location
In the middle, property owner Jakob Johansson has applied. He has stated to Dagens Industri that he does not want to comment on the tripled rent, but that it will not be a problem to find a new tenant.
– It is Sweden’s absolute best location.
Tony Challma believes, however, that it will be some time before the popular outdoor seating is full again. The property must be fixed and the lease agreement states that the restaurant and the food served must have a kind of “folk character”, open all year round and not charge any prices.
He goes out the back. The outdoor seating facing the fountain has just been assembled. An emergency exit sign hangs from the cord.
Until recently, TGIF had five restaurants in Sweden, three of them in Stockholm, but the one in Gamla stan is also closing soon. Täby is left alone.
The plan is to open a new one in Södertälje in autumn 2025.
– Now it will be very tough. The flagship is sinking, there is a risk that Fridays will disappear from Sweden.
Up to a hundred people will lose their jobs.
The tours with several disputes
Several disputes have been going on for a long time about the property Sju Sekel 1 in Kungsträdgården.
Apple took over the property in Kungsträdgården in 2015. Since then, both previous and current owners have pointed out major deficiencies in the maintenance. The problems have been passed down and not fixed.
Since 2017, i.e. before the current parties took over, there has been a dispute concerning maintenance, missing outdoor seating and ice cream kiosks. The claim is up to SEK 40 million.
In addition to the dispute since 2017, TGIF has said that it will file a lawsuit for indirect possession protection for about 100 million kroner. TGIF will therefore demand money for, among other things, lost revenue and agreements they were forced to break prematurely with breweries, suppliers and other companies.↔Source: Mitt
If you want fried chicken on Friday, you can’t go to Kungsträdgården anymore. After the triple rent increase, TGI Friday’s has served the last meal.
– The flagship is sinking. You get sad, says owner Tony Challma.
The main entrance is closed and vans ready to assist in the last few days are parked on the pavement along Hamngatan.
It’s TGIF’s penultimate day and guests are ushered in through a glass door on the side.
The franchisees sit at one of the booths with a window facing Kungsträdgården. They shake their heads.
– It’s too damned. Fridays has been here for 25 years. Up to a hundred people will lose their jobs, says Tony Challma.
In 2022, property owner Jakob Johansson bought the site from Apple and decided to raise the rent from around SEK 5.5 to just over SEK 15 million per year. TGIF opposed the increase, partly because of the poor condition of the premises.
Albin Rännar and Tony Challma took over TGI Friday’s in Sweden after the corona pandemic. Now they are forced to close. “The property is in poor condition. If someone were to change a plug, it could become a barbecue. It’s completely life-threatening for our employees,” says Challma.
Pekka Pääkkö
Despite various attempts at mediation, it has resulted in the restaurant having to leave the premises.
Waiters run back and forth with hamburgers, fried chicken and salads. The big sellers.
– It feels very difficult that it is closing. This was my first job when I came to Sweden, says head chef Mehmet Savan, who has worked here for nine years.
A few meters away, the sewer stinks from the stairs down to the basement. The property is seriously neglected. Problems that the owner and tenant have long disagreed about who is responsible for.
Tony Challma points to flooded floor drains, water damaged walls, black mold and ceiling tiles discolored by leaking toilets.
– The drains and the grease separator are broken. There are also problems with the runoff of waste water and grease.
The property is in poor condition, according to Tony Challma. They have been fixing leaks and drafts with duct tape for years.
Pekka Pääkkö
Best location
In the middle, property owner Jakob Johansson has applied. He has stated to Dagens Industri that he does not want to comment on the tripled rent, but that it will not be a problem to find a new tenant.
– It is Sweden’s absolute best location.
Tony Challma believes, however, that it will be some time before the popular outdoor seating is full again. The property must be fixed and the lease agreement states that the restaurant and the food served must have a kind of “folk character”, open all year round and not charge any prices.
He goes out the back. The outdoor seating facing the fountain has just been assembled. An emergency exit sign hangs from the cord.
Until recently, TGIF had five restaurants in Sweden, three of them in Stockholm, but the one in Gamla stan is also closing soon. Täby is left alone.
The plan is to open a new one in Södertälje in autumn 2025.
– Now it will be very tough. The flagship is sinking, there is a risk that Fridays will disappear from Sweden.
“It feels like crap,” says Emil Wallén, who has worked here for two years. “Now I’m going to study or get a new job.”
Pekka Pääkkö
Seven centuries in the Kungsträdgården
In 2015, the tech giant Apple bought the Sju Sekel 1 property for almost SEK 130 million. The plan was to demolish the building and replace it with a flagship store. They had received the go-ahead from Stockholm city politicians who then changed their mind.
In 2022, Jakob Johansson bought the property through his company Maelir for an unknown amount of money, believed to be around SEK 140 million. Johansson wants to triple the rent from SEK 5.5 million to SEK 15 million.
In 2023, the rent board decides that TGI Friday’s must leave the property.
2024 On January 31, TGI Friday’s closes its restaurant in Kungsträdgården.
Source: Mitt i, Fastighetsvärlden, Dagens Industri
The tours with several disputes
There are several disputes going on at the same time regarding the Sjuk Sekel 1 property in Kungsträdgården:
Apple took over the property in Kungsträdgården in 2015. Since then, both previous and current owners have pointed out major deficiencies in the maintenance. The problems have been passed down and not fixed.
Since 2017, a dispute has been going on that concerns both the maintenance, missing outdoor seating and ice cream kiosks. There, the demand is up to SEK 40 million.
In addition to the dispute since 2017, TGIF has said that it will file a lawsuit for indirect possession protection for about 100 million kroner. TGIF will therefore demand money for, among other things, lost revenue and agreements they were forced to break prematurely with breweries, suppliers and other companies.
Source: In the middle of
Albin Rännar and Tony Challma took over TGI Friday’s in Sweden after the corona pandemic. Now they are forced to close. “The property is in poor condition. If someone were to change a plug, it could become a barbecue. It’s completely life-threatening for our employees,” says Challma.
Pekka Pääkkö
