Friendly's Closes Another MA Restaurant

PALMER, MA — Friendly's closed one of its dwindling number of locations Monday, leaving the Springfield-based chain with 118 remaining restaurants. The Palmer store had been in business for 62 years, according to reports.

The North Main Street restaurant abruptly closed earlier this week. A sign on the front of the store reads: “This restaurant has permanently closed. Thank you for your patronage,” according to WWLP -22 News. The nearest remaining Friendly's locations are in Springfield and Auburn.

Employees at the Springfield shop said that Palmer was the only closure, MassLive reported.

The Palmer location still shows up on Friendly's website, but the link leads to an error message stating that the store "might have moved or closed."

The chain started when the Blake brothers opened an ice cream shop in Springfield in 1935 called "Friendly."

Friendly's parent company filed for bankruptcy in November 2020 but kept most of its remaining 130 stores open. The restaurant chain had been struggling prior to the pandemic, closing hundreds of restaurants over the last decade.

The chain had rebounded over the previous two years, but COVID-19 restrictions became too much to overcome. The chain was then sold to Amici Partners Group.

Friendly's has attempted to mix things up recently. Last year the chain opened a "Friendly's Cafe" in Westfield. The store showcased a new concept for the company aimed at streamlining service to cut down on long waits for food and ice cream.

See related: Friendly's Launches First Fast-Casual Concept Cafe

Friendly's Being Sold After Filing For Bankruptcy Again