Tax authority seals TGI Fridays restaurant in Reykjavík

Reykjavík’s TGI Fridays restaurant was closed and sealed on Monday during an operation by Iceland’s tax authority, mbl.is reports. Police assisted with the operation.

Ásmundur Rúnar Gylfason, an assistant chief superintendent with the Metropolitan Police, confirmed that the tax authority had requested police assistance. Sources told mbl.is the action was taken over unpaid public charges.

Under Icelandic law, business operations may be stopped and workplaces sealed when certain public charges have not been properly paid.

Helgi Magnús Hermannsson and Jóhannes Birgir Skúlason have been involved in running TGI Fridays in Iceland. In 2021, they bought Grillhúsið through Tankinn ehf., a company also linked to TGI Fridays. Tankinn was later declared bankrupt, and its winding-up ended without any payment toward claims totalling 277 million krónur.

Several other companies linked to their business operations have also gone bankrupt. Búsendi ehf., formerly Grillhúsið ehf., completed its winding-up earlier this year. OL Restaurant and Sportbar ehf., connected to their purchase of restaurant operations at Smáralind, was also declared bankrupt.

The former owner of the Adesso café accused the two men of failing to make payments under a purchase agreement. The café was closed and sealed twice in two days in October last year.

Veislan, a catering company in which Helgi Magnús was registered as the sole owner, was declared bankrupt in 2025. Claims against it totalled 216 million krónur, with no payment made toward them. The company had operated since 1998. TGI Fridays opened on Laugavegur in 2024.