Friendly’s, Through Fribble-Tinted Glasses

Restructuring lawyer Ross M. Kwasteniet is used to fielding calls about the companies he’s representing. But usually, the ensuing conversations center on the ins and outs of the struggling businesses—not childhood memories.

Alas, now Kwasteniet is representing the Friendly’s restaurant chain, a name that stirs visions of clown cone sundaes and simpler times in many Americans’ hearts.

“A visit home isn’t complete without a visit to Friendly’s,” is what people tell Kwasteniet. “This is a company that I think a lot of people have deep connections to,” the Kirkland & Ellis attorney said to a bankruptcy judge at a hearing Thursday.

The chain’s Wednesday Chapter 11 filing has indeed brought out a lot of Friendly’s fans, even in the courtroom.

Robert L. LeHane, an attorney with Kelley Drye & Warren, who’s representing a group of landlords in the case, said he had received a very personal plea—from his daughter.

“My daughter…urged me to make sure that Friendly’s stay open,” he said, adding that his clients, too, would “certainly like to see a healthy Friendly’s survive this bankruptcy process.”

Judge Kevin Gross said he would do his part to make sure operations run smoothly in the wake of the filing. He signed off on a variety of relief for the company, including one request to uphold customer programs like gift cards and discounts.

“I think it’s clear that these customer programs are particularly significant in this case,” he said. “We don’t want to disappoint any parents or children.”

Even Sun Capital Partners Inc., the Boca Raton, Fla., buyout firm that owns the company and serves as its bankruptcy lender and proposed buyer, is keeping an eye toward the 76-year-old company’s mission when orchestrating its proposed Chapter 11 restructuring. Instead of naming the vehicle it created to buy the company out of bankruptcy something like “Acquisition LLC” or “New Co.”—it went with the cutesy Sundae Group Holdings II LLC.

“They’ve chosen a good name,” Gross said.

“It is appropriate,” Kwasteniet concurred.

Lovers of Friendly’s Fribble shakes can thus breathe a sigh of relief that Gross was quick to sign off on Friendly’s motion to keep its lights on and its refrigerators humming.

“As I was reading this, I was imagining 17 million gallons of ice cream melting,” Gross said of the motion.