In 1935, two brothers — Curtis Blake, just 18, and 20-year-old S. Presley Blake — borrowed around $550 from their parents and went into business in Springfield, Massachusetts. They sold double-dip ice cream cones for a nickel and named their shop Friendly in honor of the atmosphere they’d provide their dessert-loving clientele. The Blake brothers made less than $30 that first day, but by the time they sold the company to Hershey Foods Corporation in 1979, they’d made much more (selling for $164 million) and operated 605 restaurants.
While some might not consider Friendly’s one of Massachusetts’ most historic restaurants, for many who grew up in that state, the rest of New England, or other parts of the East Coast, Friendly’s was a staple. Dessert, at least for kids, was — and remains — the main attraction, though the classic diner fare, like burgers, was also beloved.
By 1987, the company began selling its ice cream at grocery stores, opening up a new revenue stream. At its height in 1996, Friendly’s had 850 restaurants in 15 states, but after a series of financial setbacks and various owners, the company began to stumble.
Read more: 8 Restaurants That Were Once Frequented By Al Capone
Friendly’s is all about the ice cream
Friendly’s banana split next to other frozen desserts – Friendly/ Facebook
When Curtis Blake and S. Presley Blake opened their first ice cream parlor, they were simply creating jobs for themselves during the heart of the Great Depression. By 1940, they’d opened a second location in nearby West Springfield, Massachusetts, where they added burgers to the menu due to customer demand. The company ceased operations briefly during World War II but quickly expanded during the post-war boom. Ice cream remained a centerpiece at the restaurants, where you could choose from 60 different flavors. The “s” was added to the restaurant chain’s name in 1989.
Even before the brothers sold the company in 1979, trouble had been brewing. They had wrangled over the company’s direction and saw some financial issues stemming from an expansion into the Midwest that didn’t go as well as planned. Things got worse later on when the company filed for bankruptcy in both 2011 and 2020.
Today, there are fewer than 100 restaurants left, and they can be found in just 11 states on the East Coast, from Maine to Florida; visit one and you’ll be met with an array of ice cream flavors, from Butter Crunch to Hunka Chunka PB Fudge to Vienna Mocha Chunk, plus a Retro Royal Banana Split for under $10. Like other fast-casual chains, such as Ruby Tuesday, changing American tastes and more competition have taken their toll. But with Friendly’s, at least you can still find the chain’s ice cream in grocery stores even if you can’t make it to a restaurant.
Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we’re helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
