Friendly's
 |
|
| Private | |
| Founded | Springfield, Massachusetts (1935) |
| Headquarters | Wilbraham, Massachusetts, United States |
|
Key people
|
John Maguire (CEO) |
| Products | Sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups, breakfast foods, ice cream, hot dogs |
|
Number of employees
|
10,000 |
| Parent |
Dean Foods (dairy products) Sun Capital Partners (restaurants) |
| Website | www |
Friendly's is a restaurant chain on the United States' East Coast. Friendly's was founded in 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by brothers Curtis Blake and S. Prestley Blake. Friendly's has 10,000 employees; John M. Maguire is the CEO. It offers 22 ice cream flavors.
A total of 380 Friendly's are spread across Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Orlando, Florida.
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 shop 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, Northeast, and Midwest. That year, a food processing and distribution plant opened in Troy, Ohio.
In 1979, the Blake brothers retired and sold 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.
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Wikipedia