From DAILY FINANCE:
… The chain, headquartered in Massachusetts, owes its creditors some $250 million, and although it has secured $70 million in bridge loans to keep operating, it has already shuttered 63 stores and shed more than 1,000 employees.
The challenging marketplace for a tuna melt and milkshake joint like Friendly’s comes as no surprise. Competitors like T.G.I. Friday’s, Chili’s, Applebee’s, IHOP, and Denny’s have been eating its lunch for years, so to speak. Friendly’s has been losing market share and gaining debt since the 1990s, and the number of its stores has declined to less than 500 from a peak of almost 700.
More recently, with the recession, consumers have moved toward lower-priced “fast casual” restaurants like Chipotle (CMG) and Panera (PNRA), a trend that Friendly’s has tried to ride, opening Friendly’s Express stores…
Click here to read the full article.
EDITOR: Although the article is very critical of the chain, our family’s experience at the Friendly’s on Columbia Pike and Centerville Road have always been favorable. We found the quality to be good and the service to be efficient.
The predecessor to Friendly’s was Howard Johnson’s. Other than the Fribble, Friendly’s never did come up with such signature treats as the Ho-Jo hotdog and its fried clams.
Both were not only very good family restaurants, but served for early dating. I guess you can’t deposit memories at the bank!
