Friendly’s was founded in 1935 by two brothers that were very young at the time. Curtis Blake was only 18 years of age and his older brother S. Prestley Blake was only 20 years old when they founded the first location in Springfield, Massachusetts.  The first shop they opened only served cones that were double-dipped and they cost a nickel each.  They opened the second Friendly’s in 1940 in West Springfield and added hamburgers and more ice cream to the menu.  They closed the restaurant during World War II.  They reopened after the war and by 1951 they had ten locations throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.  By 1974 there were 500 restaurants across the United States and they opened a food processing plant as well.  The Blake brothers retired and sold Friendly’s to Hershey Foods Corporation and in 1988 Donald N. Smith purchased the company from Hershey Foods Corporation.  This is when the name of the company went from Friendly to Friendly’s.  Currently there are over 500 locations in 16 different states across the country.

The Friendly’s menu now includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and, of course the ice cream and desserts.  They have two different price points that allow customers to create their own meal and they also have many choices for all three meals of the day.  They started off with just hand dipped ice cream cones, and then expanded to hamburger and other ice cream treats.  After many years they finally expanded the menu to a full dining menu for all day service.

The Friendly’s franchise is open for individuals and groups that have at least $1.5 million in net worth and at least $650,000 in liquid assets.  They are currently seeking to develop territories in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C.  The cost to open the first two Friendly’s locations is $35,000 and for the third the fee drops down to $30,000.  They also offer an Express location for $25,000 or just an ice cream shop for a $15,000 fee.  They also charge a 4% royalty fee of the net sales that is paid monthly and there is a marketing fee as well that ranges from 2.5% to 3.5% depending on the type of location.