Friendly's
| File:Friendlyslogo.jpg | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | Springfield, Massachusetts (1935)[1] |
| Headquarters | Wilbraham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Key people | Ned R. Lidvall, CEO/ President 2008 |
| Products | Sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups, breakfast foods, ice cream |
| Parent | Sun Capital Partners |
| Website | www.friendlys.com |
Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is the owner and operator of the Friendly's restaurant chain on the east coast of the United States. Founded in 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts by two young brothers, 18-year-old Curtis Blake and 20-year-old S. Prestley Blake, their first shop only served double-dip cones for 5 cents. Many Friendly's have an old-fashioned street clock at the entrance of the restaurant with the name of the town, although newer and renovated stores do not have these. The company has 16,000 employees, and Ned R. Lidvall is the president and CEO.[2]
Currently, more than 500 Friendly's restaurants can be found in the following 16 states along the East Coast of the United States: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. The company also manufactures ice cream for sale in thousands of supermarkets in 12 states.
History
Friendly’s was founded at the height of the Great Depression, by two brothers, 20 year old Prestley and 18 year old Curtis Blake in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1935, the brothers opened a modest ice cream shoppe, selling double-dip cones for five cents. The brothers named the business “Friendly” to promote a warm, caring and neighborly atmosphere. In 1940, a second Friendly was opened in West Springfield, Massachusetts with the addition of food to the ice cream menu. The first item on the menu was hamburgers. During the heart of World War II the Blake Brothers closed Friendly for the rest of the war.[3] By 1951, ten Friendly Restaurants were operating throughout Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. The expansions of the company lead to the move of headquarters from Springfield, to Wilbraham, Massachusetts in 1960. The Friendly Restaurant Chain continued to grow and by 1974 accounted for 500 restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. That same year, a new food processing and distribution plant was built in Troy, Ohio.
In 1979, the Blake brothers retired and sold Friendly to Hershey Foods Corporation, which continued to operate Friendly's as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1988 Donald N. Smith purchased Friendly from Hershey Foods Corporation, becomes part of The Restaurant Company. A year later, Smith changes the name of the restaurants by adding the “s” to the name, bringing it to its current name: “Friendly’s.”
In 1997, Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation debuts on NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol FRND. In 1998, Kim Andereck was brought in as Vice President of Franchise Development and became instrumental in creating an aggressive franchise program for this 65 year-old chain that had always been 100% company-owned restaurants. Today, nearly 50% of the chain's restaurants are franchise-owned. In the summer of 2000, Friendly's switches over to the American Stock Exchange trading under the symbol FRN. In June 2007, Friendly's Appoints New President and CEO George Condos. Later that summer, Friendly's was bought for $337 million by the private investment firm, Sun Capital Partners, Inc.[4] In December 2008, Ned R. Lidvall is appointed President and CEO of the company. In Framingham, Massachusetts, Friendly’s opened its first concept store, introducing a radically different look then the typical restaurant.
Products/Menu
Friendly's is well known for its ice cream products. The restaurant serves a variety of sundaes, many in shapes, such as a clown with Reese's Pieces for eyes. The chain also serves a variety of milkshakes, including a thick milkshake known as a Fribble which was originally made with iced milk, but now is made with soft serve ice cream as opposed to their other milkshakes which are hand dipped. In addition to these ice cream products, Friendly Ice Cream restaurants also offer a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner items, such as hamburgers, french fries, wraps and sandwiches.
In addition to their restaurant operations, they manufacture and sell a complete line of packaged premium ice cream desserts distributed through more than 4,000 supermarkets and other retail locations in 12 states.[5]