Kansas City Blog

​When I lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there was a dearth of bars open past midnight. This is often the reason that nobody gets into too much trouble after a night of drinking in Boston -- you're home by the time you would normally be up to no good.

But there was one bar that was open until 1 a.m. and that was the bar at TGI Fridays. With oversized mugs and free peanuts -- it was a perfectly functional bar, however, it was definitely not cool. This is not where singles would go to meet and this would not be the site of a memorable evening. This was simply the opportunity to enjoy a Sam Adams on draft in front of an analog television.

But as the New York Post suggests, TGI Fridays was once the cool, new place to be seen.The story covers the history of the restaurant chain, profiling the original location in New York City.

It paints a tale of a bar that welcomed single women -- a big deal in 1965 -- in the heyday of casual drinking and relationships. It was apparently more Tipsy McStaggers (the one referenced in a Simpson's episode, not the unfortunately-named bar in Rochester, New York) than fry-o-lator and sundaes.  

And if you thought movie franchises were spreading themselves thin today, they have nothing on the founders of TGI Fridays as four spin-off restaurants were opened to lure consumers in at different price points -- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays (naturally an ice cream parlor).

Still, the next time you're looking to impress a date by taking him to a hotspot -- don't opt for the chicken flingers at TGI Fridays. But you might try taking your folks for Happy Hour -- they'll probably love it -- the restaurant is apparently a golden oldie.

[Image via Flickr: robertpaulyoung]