Friendly's Closes Another Location In Toms River, And Now There's Just 1 In Ocean County

TOMS] RIVER, NJ — Want a Fribble? There's only one place to get one in Toms River now, after Friendly's Restaurant closed its Route 37 location as of Monday night.

The restaurant, near the Berkeley Township border, is closed permanently according to the official Facebook page for the location.

Employees of the Route 37 location were informed Monday that it was closing, according to one who asked not to be named.

A message left for Friendly's corporate office seeking comment was not immediately answered.

The closure leaves only the Hooper Avenue restaurant across from the Ocean County Mall as the only Toms River location for those who want a Fribble or a Jim Dandy sundae to indulge in the treats.

Toms River had four Friendly's several years ago. One on Main Street was sold several years ago and now is operated as a breakfast and lunch restaurant called Shut Up and Eat!, where you can show up in your pajamas for a fun breakfast atmosphere. There also was one at the Ocean County Mall near Sears, readers reminded Patch.

The Hooper Avenue restaurant also becomes the only remaining location in Ocean or Monmouth counties. The Friendly's website lists just 13 remaining Friendly's in New Jersey, with a 14th — Voorhees — listed as temporarily closed.

The Marlton location, which was reported by NJ.com as closing in August, is still listed as open on the Friendly's corporate site. The owner of the shopping mall property wants to convert that Friendly's space into two quick-serve restaurants, according to a report by 70and73.com.

Friendly's has filed for bankruptcy protection on several occasions, most recently in 2020 as it struggled with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Franchise Wire reported.

It was purchased in January 2021 by Amici Partners Group, which has been introducing new items, including a rewards program, to try to stabilize the business, Fox Business reported.

Note: This article has been updated to correct there were once four Toms River Friendly's locations. Thank you to our readers who remembered the one we did not.