Beloved restaurant chain dwindles from 850 locations to 87, but expert sees 'a lot of life left'

A casual-dining chain known for its ice-cream desserts, burgers and family atmosphere that once operated roughly 850 restaurants has dwindled to fewer than 100 locations in 11 states.

Friendly's was founded as the "Friendly" ice-cream shop in Springfield, Massachusetts, by "spunky" brothers Prestley and Curtis Blake in 1935 — at the height of the Great Depression, according to the company's website.

The two young entrepreneurs — Prestley was 20 years old and Curtis was just 18 — sold double-dip cones for 5 cents.

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In 1940, they expanded with a second location and began offering food, with hamburgers among the first additions to the menu.

By 1951, there were 10 Friendly restaurants operating in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and by 1974, that number had grown to 500 restaurants across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Friendly's became known for its ice-cream desserts, burgers and family-friendly atmosphere as it expanded throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Friendly's marked its 90th year in business in 2025.

Along the way, the company introduced new food and dessert items to its menu, began distributing its ice cream in supermarkets, set a Guinness World Record for the largest sundae in 1980 and added the apostrophe and "s" to its name in 1989.

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Friendly's also changed hands throughout the decades and filed for bankruptcy twice.

Hershey's acquired Friendly's from the Blakes in 1979 and sold the chain nine years later to Tennessee Restaurant Company. By the mid-1990s, Friendly's had grown to about 850 restaurants.

Friendly’s celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2025, decades after the brand began as a neighborhood ice-cream shop. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Friendly's first filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and again in November 2020.

"Over the last two years, Friendly's has made important strides toward reinvigorating our beloved brand in the face of shifting demographics, increased competition and rising costs," then-Friendly's CEO George Michel said in a news release in 2020.

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"Unfortunately, like many restaurant businesses, our progress was suddenly interrupted by the catastrophic impact of COVID, which caused a decline in revenue as dine-in operations ceased for months and re-opened with limited capacity."

In 2021, Friendly's announced that Amici Partners Group, LLC had acquired the company and was "dedicated to reinvigorating 130-store restaurant chain."

Friendly's expanded beyond its restaurants by selling its branded ice cream in grocery stores. (Gaia Squarci/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Today, 90% of Friendly's restaurants have closed, and there are 87 locations in 11 Eastern states, The Takeout reported. Twenty-two of the restaurants – or about 25% of them – are in Massachusetts.

Some Friendly's restaurants were seen as old and tired and as failing to keep up with modern trends, Barbara E. Kahn, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, told Fox News Digital.

Nevertheless, Kahn said there's "a lot of life left" in the Friendly's brand.

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"It has a legacy that could be built on and could serve to bring people in, especially on this trend of nostalgia, which can be a plus in restaurants," she said. "But it also has to keep up with changing times and changing tastes."

Kahn said Friendly's has "positive DNA" the brand can build upon by capitalizing on the restaurants' nostalgia and strong brand legacy surrounding its ice cream, while also modernizing its offerings.

Friendly's can capitalize on nostalgia surrounding the brand while adapting to changing consumer tastes, an expert said. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

"People who remember that brand from its heyday think of it as a fun place to go, a family restaurant known for its ice cream and fun food," she said.

McDonald's is one brand Kahn pointed to as having stood the test of time by tweaking its offerings, adjusting to trends and maintaining fresh appeal.

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Kahn said adding more non-meat items, healthy grains and salads could possibly help Friendly's attract new customers.

Fox News Digital reached out to Friendly's for comment.

Teresa Mull is a freelance writer with the Lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.