Friendly's
| Friendly Ice Cream Corporation
|
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|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1935 |
| Seat | Wilbraham , Massachusetts |
| management | Ned R. Lidvall, CEO |
| Number of employees | over 16,000 |
| Branch | System catering |
| Website | www.friendlys.com |
Friendly Ice Cream Corporation owns and operates the Friendly's chain of restaurants, which is primarily located on the east coast of the United States. The company employs over 16,000 people. The current CEO is Ned R. Lidvall.
history
Friendly was in the time of the Great Depression of two brothers in Springfield (Massachusetts) founded. In 1935 the brothers opened a small ice cream parlor and sold ice cream for five cents . The brothers called their business "Friendly" to create a warm atmosphere. In 1940 a second Friendly branch was opened, but with the addition of groceries to the existing ice cream menu. In 1951, ten more friendly restaurants were opened, mostly in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The company's expansion resulted in its headquarters being moved from Springfield to Wilbraham . The company grew rapidly and by 1974 had around 500 restaurants on the Atlantic coast and the northeastern United States.
Finally, Friendly was sold to Hershey in 1979 and became a subsidiary. After some time, however, Hershey sold Friendly to Donald N. Smith. A year later, in 1989, Smith changed the name of the restaurant by adding an "s". Hence the name "Friendly's."
In 2007, Friendly's was bought by private investment company Sun Capital Partners Inc. for $ 337 million . Ned R. Lidvall has been the company's CEO since 2008 .
bankruptcy
On September 29, 2011, Reuters claimed that Friendly's had applied for Chapter 11 . This has been confirmed by Sun Capital Partners Inc. 63 branches were closed immediately and 1260 employees made redundant. The reason for the bankruptcy is the country's economic downturn coupled with higher costs and rents, according to management. In January 2012, another 37 branches were closed and 780 employees made redundant.
menu
Friendly's is known for its ice cream products. The restaurant offers a variety of ice cream sundaes, milkshakes and soft ice cream. In addition to these ice cream products, the chain also offers breakfast, lunch and dinner.
In addition to its restaurants, the company also manufactures and sells ice cream for more than 4,000 supermarkets in the United States.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ huffingtonpost.com: Friendly's Bankruptcy Filing Imminent, Says Report
- ↑ bostonglobe.com: Friendly's shuts 37 more eateries, exits bankruptcy ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
