Friendly's Files Bankruptcy, Closing 60+ Stores

[OverDone]

Source: Bloomberg

Friendly Ice Cream Corp., the 76- year-old restaurant chain known for its ice cream and burgers, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors four years after being bought by private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-05/friendly-ice-cream-chain-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-after-76-years.html

---

It seems like this is happening all the time. It ashame to see another business, that has been around for years, starting to break down.

If you want more new check out. It definitely keeps you informed to say the least.

http://www.dailyjobcuts.com

[Donnachaidh]

1. OMG! We loved the Friendly's Awful Awful shakes in Rhode Island!

ALL of the stores are closing? That's horrible!

[tcaudilllg]

10. The definition of "loss" is what's at fault.

A loss is considered unacceptable performance relative to an arbitrary standard, whether or not profit is obtained. Those who make business decisions based on such fallacies must be barred from positions of market responsibility.

[rabies1]

11. Thinking lately too, I haven't had a sundae for years, I need one

There are a couple of stores in my area too.:-( Occupy Wall Street, they're at the bottom of this mess.

[gaspee]

22. Newport Creamery

Has the Awful Awful (and they are buy 1 get 1 on Mondays)

[KamaAina]

27. 63 out of about 500

didn't say where, exactly.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Key is 'private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners'. When they have to get a certain percentage of

profit, then companies will go under.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. +1. Bottom line is that the equity firms investors want....

solid returns on their money. It's not uncommon for that money to come from huge increases in company debt. It happens over and over again.
A lot of their stores are franchises. I wonder what happens to them.

[meegbear]

4. But they're going for a trillion high-fives ...

how will they make that goal now?

[bigworld]

5. They're selling it to themselves, and writing off the debt

If I'm reading this correctly. More Wall St smoke and mirrors tricks...

The company, which opened at the height of the Great Depression with one shop in Springfield, Massachusetts, plans to sell itself at an auction with a Sun Capital affiliate as the lead bidder, according to papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

[valerief]

6. Who can afford to eat out anyway? nt

[No Elephants]

7. Sad, but I am sadder about the Bailey's in Boston's downtown shopping district.

A kid's dream palace of endless candy counter, ice cream sodas and sundaes.

Sigh.

[LiberalEsto]

8. Good riddance

Slowest. worst service ever.

I suspect they paid their employes next to nothing.

[Renew Deal]

13. And now that they will pay their employees literally nothing you are happy.

OK

[LiberalEsto]

26. Just how do you make an assuption that I'm happy?

I've been unemployed for three years as of this month.
Two other members of my family are unemployed.

I suppose I don't have the right to say that I thought Friendly's was awful, without people jumping to conclusions that I'm happy about a business closing.

[CBHagman]

36. Well, you did write "Good riddance."

But of course only the kindest, sweetest, most empathetic person would write Good riddance when a company goes into bankruptcy and more people are faced with the prospect of job loss.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Beacool]

19. You are happy that so many people will lose their jobs?

As for the low wages, I don't know how much they pay, but I saw the same wait staff at the Friendly's I used to go to for years.

:shrug:

[OverDone]

24. The pay is

pretty standard for them type restaurants. What is really concerning is, not only are we losing high paying jobs but now lower paying jobs are getting hit. Also the trickle down effect, Business that sold to friendly's and maintenance, just everything.

[Beacool]

32. I know, it's just not the staff, but also all the vendors that provided them with service.

As a nation, we seem to keep going downhill. When are we going to reach bottom?

:(

[LiberalEsto]

25. You're making an assumption

Why should I be happy about people losing jobs? I've been unemployed for 3 years.
I simply have never liked Friendly's. I thought the food was crummy, the service was extremely slow, and I suspected the waitstaff wasn't being treated well by management.

[Beacool]

31. OK, that's fair.

:hi:

[david_vincent]

9. This is karma

Friendly's treats their workforce like shit, and word gets around. My wife and I have been boycotting Friendly's for 2 or 3 years now. I hope the MBAs who are in "control" of Friendly's have heard that lots of people have been refusing to patronize their restaurants because of their decision to treat their employees as if they aren't even human.

[Renew Deal]

12. I love Friendly's.

I hope the ones near me stay open.

[Doremus]

16. My mother used to looooove Friendly's.

Thinking of Friendly's reminds me so much of her.

[Doremus]

14. Don't want your company to go under after being stripped by vultures?

Don't sell it to them.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. Also at dailyjobcuts.com:

Gear for Sports closing

Constitution-Tribune
Posted Oct 04, 2011 @ 11:35 AM

Chillicothe, Mo. — HanesBrands announced Monday evening that it will close its Chillicothe apparel decorating and screen-printing plant in December and move production to a new lower-cost company facility in Mexico.
....

The 50,000-square-foot Chillicothe plant, located at 591 E. Business Highway 36, began operations in 2001 and makes decorated T-shirts and other logo apparel that is sold primarily in the collegiate market. The company plans to sell the property after operations cease. Gear For Sports will continue to operate its apparel embroidery and decoration production facility in Lenexa, Kan., to supply the market with high-quality graphic apparel ordered with short lead times.

HanesBrands, one the world’s largest producers of basic apparel, acquired Gear For Sports, which sells embellished licensed logo apparel in collegiate bookstore and through other channels, in November 2010.

Hanes bought them less than a year ago, and now they're closing the plant.

[Beacool]

18. I heard about it this weekend.

It breaks my heart to see so many American businesses going under. Little by little, our way of life is disappearing.

Whenever I travel I enjoy going to Friendly's for breakfast. I have fond memories of a particular Friendly's in Cape Cod that we would frequent every year for many years when we vacationed at the Cape. I also remember the fun we had going there for ice cream.

:-(

[Art_from_Ark]

37. I remember a Friendly's in Southbridge, Massachusetts

It was a very nice place to eat. I especially liked their "Happy Ending" meal :9

[madlefty]

20. I remember eating at Friend ly's 5 and 6 years ago and

the burgers were huge and delicious and the shakes and fries were great. I don't go there anymore because the food is like it came out of a vending machine. This is Probably why they have to go bankrupt, I remember I had to wait in line to get in. The quality of the food went to hell.................

[OverDone]

23. Right on

Friendy's as a kid used to be great. But they have slowly moved into a standard chippy restaurant. But nether less sad to see it, probably end up going away

[bongbong]

21. Mittens is part of this trend

As other comments have noted, Friendlys is the victim of Wall Street greed.

In a related note, Mittens made his hundreds of millions in the same way. The old fashioned way like in the original Wall Street movie. Like the lizard Gekko. His company buys companies, strips them, fires lots of people, and sells the shell for a profit. If the USA was like it was say, 40 years ago, there would be daily stories in the media about how Mitten's talk about jobs is like satan talking about charity. It's a travesty that he is considered the "moderate" repig.

I love having the experience of living in a Banana Republic!

[Bombero1956]

28. complete list of closing restaurants

MASSACHUSSETS

Massachusetts Ave., Acton

Pleasant St., Attleboro

Boston Rd., Billerica

Broad St., Bridgewater

Belmont St., Brockton

Austin St., Charlestown

East St., Chicopee

Providence Pike, Dedham

John Fitch Plaza, Fitchburg

Central St., Foxboro

Federal St., Greenfield

Hanover Mall, Hanover

Mall at Whitney Field, Leominster

Monument Square, Leominster

Main St., Medfield

Chestnut St., Needham

Independence Ave., Quincy

Main St., Southbridge

Wilbraham Rd., Springfield

Washington St., Stoughton

Broadway, Taunton

Main St., Ware

Cranberry Highway, Wareham

West Boylston St., West Boylston

Main St., West Harwich

Westfield St., West Springfield

Turnpike Rd., Westboro

Church St., Whitinsville

Main St., Worcester

Park Ave., Worcester


CONNECTICUT

Boston Post Rd., Guilford

Buckland Mall, Manchester

Main St., Meriden

Storrs Rd./University Plaza, Storrs

E. Main St., Torrington

Waterbury Shopping Plaza, Waterbury

South Main St., West Hartford


VERMONT

Montpelier Rd., Berlin-Barre


MAINE

High St., Ellsworth

Main St., Freeport

Sabattus St., Lewiston

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth


RHODE ISLAND

Warwick Ave., Warwick


NEW YORK

Wolf Rd., Albany

Western Ave., Albany

Delaware Ave., Elsmere

Upper Glen St., Glens Falls

Congress St., Saratoga Springs

Altamont Ave., Schenectady


PENNSYLVANIA

Easton Rd., Doylestown

Coventry Mall, Pottstown

Kingstown Rd., Wakefield-Kingston


NEW JERSEY

Hamilton Plaza, Trenton


VIRGINIA

2960 Boulevard, Colonial Heights

Fribble Way, Midlothian

Patterson Ave., Richmond

Brook Rd., Richmond


FLORIDA

Service Road 64 East, Bradenton

Citrus Tower Blvd., Clermont

Eustis Plaza, Eustis

S. Babcock St., Melbourne

Collegiate Way, Orlando

University Parkway, Sarasota

[Beacool]

33. Thanks.

At least the ones I have frequented in Cape Cod, NJ and Pennsylvania are not closing.

[Marrah_G]

29. End of an era....

[defendandprotect]

30. Capitalism isn't about competition ... it's about killing the competition ---

[Bombero1956]

34. They need to get back to basics

Get away from sit down meals and go back to burgers, fries, hotdogs and ice cream.

[peacefreak]

35. Sorry to hear this.

My dad would take us there every year on the day we got out of school for summer vacation. Ate there not too long ago & had an excellent burger. Too bad.

[Beer Snob-50]

38. friendly's was my first official paying job...

it was great for a high school kid. i got decent money, i thought the food was good, and you met many attractive women while working there.

it is sad though that the friendly's i worked at is one of the ones closing..

[E-Z-B]

39. I always felt bad for the employees. They always had to deal with a lot of crap from parents & kids

And in the few times I've been there, I constantly saw large parties leave only about a $3 tip.

[Matariki]

40. Huh? I thought this already happened in the 1980s?

[Joe Bacon]

41. I remember their watermelon sherbet.

Loved that stuff. Couldn't get it anywhere else!

[tilsammans]

42. For what Friendly's offered, they did it well, IMO

Yet another American institution about to be gone.