After enduring prolonged financial difficulties and a failed deal with UK-based Hostmore, the American casual dining chain said on Saturday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The business listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in a bankruptcy court filing for the Northern District of Texas.

TGI Fridays, which is privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, has been a popular place to eat since its first bar opened in Manhattan, New York, in 1965.

Owner and operator of 39 domestic TGI Fridays: “Thank God it’s Friday!” restaurants said that all of its corporate-owned “happy hour” dining establishments in the United States are still open and that it has secured a financing commitment to help with operations.

TGI Fridays executive chairman Rohit Manocha stated: COVID-19 and our capital structure were the primary causes of our financial difficulties.

“Our go-forward restaurants will be able to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential” as a result of this restructuring.

Following its removal as manager of TGIF Funding, which owns the right to collect royalties from the restaurant chain franchise, British restaurant operator Hostmore abandoned plans to acquire TGI Fridays in September.

After the news, Hostmore, which operated TGI Fridays in Britain through its Thursdays (UK) unit, saw its shares fall by 90% and later announced that it would enter administration due to overwhelming debt.

In October, Thursdays (UK) administrators reported that 35 TGI Fridays restaurants had closed, resulting in 1,012 job losses.

The Dallas-based chain said that all franchise locations in the United States and abroad will continue to operate normally following Saturday’s announcement of its bankruptcy.