How many friendlys are there

In addition to the "Friendly burger," the Blake brothers added more elaborate ice cream items to the menu. One such option was the "One Dandy split,'' now known as the "Jim Dandy," which was the Blake brothers' take on a classic banana split.

The brothers put signs on their restaurants' windows saying they would reopen "when we win the war. In , the chain started selling its ice cream in large take-home containers. By , there were 10 Friendly restaurants across Connecticut and western Massachusetts. The company moved its headquarters from Springfield to Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in The new headquarters was located adjacently to a creamery which still makes the ice cream that serves much of the Friendly system, according to the company's website.

By , Friendly had grown to a chain of approximately restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and northeastern United States. Curtis Blake, who served as the company's president, credited his brother with much of the chain's expansion. Reese's Pieces, Oreos, and Heath Bar Crunch were introduced as sundae toppings as part of the co-branding initiative. By that time, Friendly offered more than 60 flavors of ice cream in restaurants, as well as the chain's famous holiday Jubilee Roll, created in Helmed by executive Donald Smith, the mastermind behind the McDonald's breakfast menu and Pizza Hut's personal pan pizzas, the restaurants were converted into full-service establishments, according to the Boston Globe.

One year after the sale, the name of the restaurant chain was officially changed to "Friendly's. In , Blake tried to force Donald Smith out of the company with a lawsuit over what he believed was an improper use of a private jet and explore another sale, causing a rift between the brothers , the Boston Globe reported. According to the Metro West Daily News , Friendly's board of directors investigated the claims and found no evidence of wrongdoing. However, according to Restaurant Business , Donald Smith eventually agreed to reimburse the company anyway for his personal use of the corporate jet.

Prestley responded, through the Boston Globe, that he believed he was right and was going forward with the sale anyway. Curtis Blake died at his home in Florida in May The brothers had been close in recent years, despite the previous falling out. According to MassLive , Prestley said he had visited Curtis and "was very troubled to see his brother ill. In , a new restaurant concept, Friendly's Express, opened in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

The following year, three more Friendly's Express locations opened across Massachusetts. The restaurants were designed to offer customers a faster, more take-out-friendly option compared to the chain's traditional sit-down restaurants.

However, all Friendly's Express locations appear to have now closed or been converted into traditional Friendly's restaurants. Updated, p. Nearly all are expected to remain open during the sale, the company said. Staffing decisions at franchised locations are determined at the local level. 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.

As part of the sale process, the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, seeking a hearing next month to approve the sale and bankruptcy petition. It has opened new locations in recent years, including at the Apex Center in Marlborough.

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