The Friendly's restaurant in Burke was spared, as the company moved to close 63 of its restaurants last week. The Massachusetts based food chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sighting reduced business and rising commodity costs.
Even if more restaurants are closed in restructuring, the future for Burke's restaurant looks good. "The Washington market should be immune," said Friendly's Restaurant spokesman Rich Tauberman to the Washington Post. Tauberman said the locations in the D.C. and Baltimore do well for the company.
Chairman and chief executive Harsha Agadi said, “The strategic decision to pursue a financial restructuring will allow us to proactively and quickly improve our financial position."
The parent company, Sun Capital Partners Inc., acquired the chain in 2007. It had consisted of more than 500 locations.
Two young brothers founded Friendly's in 1935. It began as an ice cream shop in Springfield, Mass. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, the restaurant employed some 10,000 people in its East Coast stores.
Kevin Ganley
6:29 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Too bad for Burke. We were hoping for something nicer and much cleaner.
JH
7:00 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
JH: Agree with Gankey. Place is a dump. First we lost a hardware store and have to travel more than 8 miles to get to one. What we need is a Long John Silver's (fish folks) and at least one upscale restaurant.
Beth Lawton
8:54 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
In Friendly's defense, I'm a fan of the chocolate Fribble...
Molly Field
9:45 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
I go there for the ice cream. The service is horrid as the wait staff seems asleep. But it's always crowded. Maybe this restructuring will improve the stores they keep open. I agree with Mr. Gankey: Burke would do well to have clean, well-lit, well run restaurant. Panisa is nice, but it's Thai only and Villa Bella is ok, but it's Italian only... it would be wonderful to have an American-fare place -- like a Burke-style Clydes or something.
Eileen P
11:20 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
I can't believe this "restaurant" has lasted as long as it has being staffed by extremely questionable characters (that's putting it mildly), the inability to actually cook food that should be cooked, and the level of grime on every surface (and employee).
It hasn't changed since 1989.
Perhaps it should win an award for its tenacity.
PCS
8:31 pm on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Burke area has a great demographic profile. Highly educated and high incomes. We have been here for 20+ years and cannot believe that Clydes, Capitol Grill, etc. have not set up shop in Burke. The demand is right here and a lot of people do not want to travel the five miles or so to another place. We joined a local country club just to have a place close by for dinner for out of town guests.
Stacy
1:21 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
The Coffee Fribbles are one of my favorite nostalgic treats. I love Friendly's. Also, the clam strips are pretty good for the price.