Friendly’s Closes 63 Restaurants

While Chapter 11 is meant to bring new life to the sundae- and burger-slinging Friendly’s chain, it does mark the end for some of its restaurants. Are you a frustrated Friendly’s Fribble or Frunion lover? Read on to find out.

Friendly Ice Cream Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday with plans to sell itself to current owner Sun Capital Partners Inc., subject to an auction process. On launching its restructuring, the Wilbraham, Mass., company said it has closed 63 of its underperforming restaurants, and it published a list of those locations here. Thirty of the closures are in Friendly’s home state of Massachusetts, while the rest are located throughout the northeastern U.S. and Florida.

“These closures will help the company realize important cost savings and operational efficiencies that will improve its financial foundation so it can better serve all constituencies,” Harsha V. Agadi, Friendly’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement Wednesday.

Another 424 Friendly’s restaurants remain open and will continue serving the comfort food it’s been known for since its first ice-cream shop opened in Springfield, Mass., in 1935.