When I saw earlier today that Friendly's is going to file for bankruptcy, I kind of got that feeling that I got punched in the stomach a bit.

The COVID-19 pandemic was too much for Friendly's to sustain as they were in the process of restructuring their operations before the pandemic hit.

Once the pandemic hit, everything changed, so Friendly's has filed Chapter 11, and they will sell substantially all of its assets to Amici Partners Group for nearly $2 dollars.

According to FIC Retaurants Inc:

All 130 corporate-owned and franchised Friendly’s locations are expected to remain open (subject to local COVID-19 restrictions). Friendly’s says that the company has “sufficient cash-on-hand” to continue operations and to pay employees, franchisees and vendors.

Going back to my original statement, you are probably wondering why I care so much that Friendly's is filing Chapter 11, and it feels like it's a punch in the gut.

It's not because (if they close down completely) that I will miss their Fribbles, Happy Ending (sundaes), Big Beef Cheeseburgers, Clam Boat, Fishamajig sandwich, or their WattaMelon Dessert Roll.

As awesome as they all were, those are not the reasons...Friendly's was my very FIRST job where I actually got paid by a company.

I worked at the Friendly's in the Staten Island Mall, and I honestly can say it was an amazing experience. We used to have so much fun, whether it was laughing our asses off while getting "slammed" in the kitchen, or watching all the girls walk by the ice cream service window, or just hanging out in the mall parking lot after work...A lot of great memories came from working at Friendly's.

When the Friendly's location closed in the Staten Island Mall, years after I worked there, I was really bummed out.

I made so many friends working at Friendly's who I still keep in touch with today.

I had a lot of "new" life experiences from working there...Unfortunately, I can't mention them here, but we all had them growing up at some point in our lives.

To this day, every time I drive by a Friendly's restaurant, it always takes me back to the late 80's when I used to work there, and some little memory always pops in my head, and I find myself smiling just a little bit

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Andy Chase
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