This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bucknell chapter.
T.G.I. Friday’s is an American staple. The pin-clad waiters and the deliciously greasy potato skins are all part of its charm, and if you haven’t been to a Friday’s, you’re sorely missing out. If you have (and appreciate it as much as I do), you have founder and fellow Bucknellian Alan Stillman to thank.
While at Bucknell, Stillman majored in finance, although his childhood dream was to become a famous singer. Talk about a change of plans. Soon after graduating in 1957, Stillman was a young and single Bucknell grad living in New York City, searching for a better way to meet girls. “It seemed to be that the best way to meet girls was to open up a bar,” Stillman has said, and that’s when T.G.I. Friday’s was born– the very first “singles’ bar”. According to him, most people between the ages of twenty three and twenty seven didn’t have a public space to meet other singles at that time, and coincidentally, it was the height of the sexual revolution. Stillman was in the right place at the right time, as his first endeavor in the restaurant industry has resulted in an extremely popular chain across the nation.
In 1977, Stillman teamed up with fellow Bucknellians Ben Benson and Ernie Kalman to establish Smith and Wollensky in New York City, one of the nine famous steakhouses by the same name.
Stillman was also the brains behind “National Wine Week”, which is celebrated at restaurants all over the country twice a year. He recently partnered with his son, Michael Stillman, to found Fourth Wall Restaurants, which includes many highly-acclaimed restaurants in New York City. Stillman is undoubtedly an extremely accomplished businessman, and we can’t help but think Bucknell was a key component in his successes.
