Business & Tech
Friendly's On Route 1 Closes
The Saugus Friendly's was the latest location to close. It has been a brutal decade for the once-ubiquitous family restaurant chain.

SAUGUS, MA — Friendly's on Route 1 is the latest location for the struggling ice cream chain to close. Friendly's was closed Monday, according to someone who worked there. A note on the door encouraged patrons to visit nearby locations in Stoneham and Peabody. The corporate office could not be reached Tuesday, but the location was not on the company's website.
There are still 38 locations in Massachusetts, but there are a fraction of them left in New England compared to decades ago. The last Friendly's in Rhode Island shuttered last month.
Friendly's filed for bankruptcy in 2011. It has closed dozens of locations since then.
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The company was founded in Wilbraham in 1935.
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