Friendly's - History

History

Friendly's was founded in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression by brothers Prestley and Curtis Blake in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Blake brothers opened a small ice cream shoppe named "Friendly", selling double-dip cones for 5 cents each. In 1940, a second Friendly in West Springfield was opened with an expanded food menu. During World War II, the Blakes closed the business until the war's end. By 1951, 10 Friendly's were operating in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The expansion of the company led to the move of headquarters from Springfield to Wilbraham in 1960. By 1974 the chain had grown to 500 restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. That year, a food processing and distribution plant opened in Troy, Ohio.

In 1979, the Blake brothers retired, selling Friendly to Hershey Foods Corporation, which operated the chain as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1988, Donald N. Smith purchased Friendly from the Hershey corporation, with Friendly becoming part of Tennessee Foods. In 1989, Smith added the 's to Friendly, making its colloquial name official.

In 1997, Friendly Ice Cream Corporation debuted on NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol FRND. The stock began at $18 per share, peaking at $26. Around then, 34 stores were sold to DavCo Restaurants, which planned 100 openings in the next 10 years. Despite DavCo's efforts, Friendly's stock price fell to $5.

In 1998, Kim Andereck was brought in as Vice President of Franchise Development and became instrumental in creating an aggressive franchise program for the chain, which had been company-owned. Now, about 50% of its restaurants are franchise-owned. In summer 2000, Friendly's switched to the American Stock Exchange; symbol FRN. In June 2007, Friendly's appointed President and CEO George Condos; that summer it was bought for $337 million by the private investment firm Sun Capital Partners, Inc. In December 2008, Ned R. Lidvall was appointed President and CEO.

On August 5, 2009, the first Friendly's Express opened in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with three in 2010: April 28 at Coolidge Corner in Brookline, July 7 in Wareham, and September 28 in Methuen.