TGI Fridays Gets Into the Food Truck Game It's not unheard of for food trucks to move to brick-and-mortar locations. Chains becoming food trucks, however, is a more unique proposition.

By Kate Taylor

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

TGI Fridays is ready to get hip.

The chain that began as a handful of bars for single people in the 1970s turned family-friendly mega-chain in the late 80s is working hard to bring young people back through the doors. TGI Fridays' solution: the millennial-friendly food truck.

Fridays is hitting the road with the "Summer of Fridays Road Tour," driving food trucks selling TGI Friday's menu favorites across America. The trucks will stop in 20 cities and towns, including Minneapolis, Houston and Brooklyn. The stops primarily coincide with various festivals, such as the Boston Calling Music Festival and a Taste of Dallas.

Related: Longtime Owner Sells TGI Fridays for $800 Million

The trucks are accompanied by a four-man team of "storytellers," dedicated to "bringing you the best of handcrafted America." Summer of Fridays' website presents bios, websites and Instagram shots of these photography-minded "storytellers," as well as photos that strongly fit the hipster stereotype: heavily filtered, trendily dressed in vests and plaid, and no eye contact with the camera.

TGI Fridays seems to be following the Taco Bell model creating business by appealing to millennials. However, while Taco Bell has struck gold with it's over the top, tongue-in-cheek style, TGI Fridays needs to be careful not to hop on the food truck trend right as the oversaturated market makes the trend go from "cool" to "mainstream," or worse, "passé."

With TGI Fridays recent sale from its longtime owner for $800 million, the chain is clearly ready to revamp its image and bring in new customers. The question is – will millennials bite?

Related: The Real Reason Taco Bell Made the Waffle Taco

Kate Taylor

Reporter

Kate Taylor is a reporter at Business Insider. She was previously a reporter at Entrepreneur. Get in touch with tips and feedback on Twitter at @Kate_H_Taylor. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Buying / Investing in Business

Former Zillow Execs Target $1.3T Market

Co-ownership is creating big opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Life Hacks

Turn Downtime Into Personal Growth With Headway Premium

This $60 lifetime subscription to Headway Premium lets you learn in your spare time forever.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Management

My Relentless Ambition Cost Me My Health. Here's How to Avoid Making My Mistakes.

There is no KPI in your startup worth sacrificing your health over. An important lesson for founders of how, when health fails, everything can come crashing like a house of cards.

Side Hustle

She Quit Her Job at Trader Joe's After Starting a Side Hustle With $800 — Then She and Her Brother Grew the Business to $20 Million

Jaime Holm and Matt Hannula teamed up to build a business in an industry that "didn't exist" yet.