Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc. First to Introduce American Casual Dining Concept to Vietnam Company Continues Aggressive Global Expansion with New International Development Agreements DALLAS, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- Dallas-based Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc., the global leader in the casual dining industry, today announced the signing of a T.G.I. Friday's(R) international development agreement which includes the entire Republic of Vietnam. The agreement with Ellisford Investments Limited is the first to be signed by an American casual dining restaurant for Vietnam and calls for the opening of three T.G.I. Friday's restaurants, with the first opening scheduled for December 1997. In addition to the Vietnam agreement, the company has reached a milestone by signing its first three concept development agreements with P.T. Tri Saga Sarama for the opening of seven T.G.I. Friday's(R) restaurants, five Italianni's(SM) restaurants, and one Friday's Front Row(R) Sports Grill in Indonesia during the next five years. "These new restaurants, along with existing domestic and international agreements, will help us take the Friday's, Front Row and Itallianni's restaurant concepts to every corner of the world," said Wallace B. Doolin, president and chief executive officer of Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc. "We are excited about our international expansion plans and look forward to serving our brand of food and fun to a diverse group of guests." The development of Friday's concepts in Vietnam and Indonesia are part of Friday's worldwide growth strategy which calls for continuous expansion of its brands both domestically and internationally. This year alone, Friday's will open over 60 restaurants in 12 new countries and will open the first Friday's American Bar(SM) in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in September, with plans to open 100-150 additional Friday's American Bars in the United States and abroad over the next three to five years. Friday's worldwide growth strategy calls for 500 domestic restaurants and more than 200 international restaurants spanning six continents by the year 2000. Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc., the parent company of TGI Friday's Inc., is a privately held company owned by Carlson Companies, Inc., a world leader in the hospitality, travel and marketing industries. Friday's currently operates, franchises and licenses more than 395 T.G.I.Friday's(R), Italianni's(SM) and Front Row(R) Sports Grill restaurants in 295 cities and 28 countries. SOURCE Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc. CONTACT: Leslie Henderson or Amy Heiny, public relations, Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc., 214-450-3681 or 214-450-5549