Business & Tech
Business as Usual for Cuyahoga Falls Friendly’s
Chain files for bankruptcy, closes some stores – Fairlawn and other Ohio locations unaffected.
The welcome mat remains for the restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls despite a bankruptcy filing by the corporate parent company, the Friendly Ice Cream Corp., early today.
A PRNewswire release said the company was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection “to quickly restructure the company and emerge stronger and more competitive.”
The company closed 63 “underperforming” restaurant locations, but the remaining 424 locations remain largely unaffected, including all Ohio locations, according to the release.
The Cuyahoga Falls restaurant at 1040 Graham Rd. bustled with traffic Wednesday morning. A supervisor at the store declined to comment. The Cuyahoga Falls location is a franchise owned by Mike Steigerwald of JEMM Restaurants LLC. JEMM also operates restaurants in Ashland, Elyria and Sandusky.
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The Friendly's Fairlawn location, owned by Apex Eagle Hospitality, is also apparently unaffected by the bankruptcy proceedings.
"We have embarked on an aggressive campaign to enhance restaurant operations, improve the guest experience, strengthen our team and expand the company's successful retail ice cream business," said Harsha V. Agadi, Chairman & CEO of Friendly's. "I am particularly pleased with the enthusiastic response among our guests and employees to the recently launched 'High Five' campaign which not only provides great meal values but is also revitalizing our brand in the marketplace.”
Friendly’s was founded in 1935 in Springfield, MA.
Most of the closings are in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Florida.
Rich Tauberman, a spokesman for Friendly's, confirmed Wednesday that no Ohio locations of Friendly's were affected by the bankruptcy filings, nor are any Ohio franchises affected.