History

 

                                                                                         "Where Ice Cream Makes the Meal" 

     Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is one of the top names in ice cream in the northeastern United States. The company has nearly 530 Friendly's company-owned and franchised restaurants in 16 states and distributes packaged ice cream products to more than 4,500 retail outlets.

• 1935: Brothers Curtis and Prestley Blake open an ice cream shop. 
• 1943: A second shop opens in Springfield, Massachusetts. 
• 1951: By now, ten shops are open in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 
• 1979: Hershey Food Corporation purchases Friendly Ice Cream for $162 million. 
• 1984: The company opens its first outlet in Florida. 
• 1988: Hershey sells Friendly to Chicago-based Tennessee Restaurant Company (TRC) for $375 million. 
• 1997: Friendly Ice Cream goes public. 
• 2001: Cofounder Prestley Blake becomes the company's largest shareholder. 
• 2003: Blake files suit against Smith claiming he misused corporate funds.