Why couldn't somebody named Cohen buy Friendly's?

By adamg on Mon, 06/18/2007 - 9:02am

Some Florida holding company is buying Friendly's for $337 million. I heard the Friendly's CEO on 'BZ this morning explaining that the purchase won't affect the chain's operations, which is great news for people who like long waits for so-so food and who enjoy listening to short-staffed workers get short tempered with each other.

Topics:

Dining

Free tagging:

Friendly's

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Comments

Remember when Friendly's had its own proprietary cola?

By Spatch
Mon, 06/18/2007 - 10:32am

They didn't want to pay Coke or Pepsi for licensing, so they had some generic cola and, unlike those in the Midwest for whom "coke" is synonymous with "some kind of carbonated soft drink", they'd let you KNOW it. You'd ask "May I have a Coke, please?" and get a snarling "It's FRIENDLY COLA" in response.

(At that point my father would usually mutter "Good to know something around here is" and I'd have to cover by knocking all the sugar packets over the table.)

Still, my brother used to swear by their grilled cheese sandwiches and I am still of the opinion that their Peppermint Stick ice cream was the be-all and end-all of peppermint-flavored ice cream with little candy cane pieces stuck in. Was, at least. I haven't been to a Friendly's since the Arlington one ran afoul of the Health Board and got knocked down.

You displayed sense there, Spatch.

By independentminded
Tue, 06/19/2007 - 9:45am

"I haven't been to a Friendly's since the Arlington one ran afoul of the Health Board and got knocked down."

Imo, it's safe to assume that if the Arlington Friendly's got into trouble with the Health Board, that other
Friendly's restaurants are just waiting--next in line.

Worst Service Evah

By bigdumptruck
Tue, 06/19/2007 - 1:20pm

I don't understand how anyone who goes and has a bad Friendly's experience could ever go back. The one in Acton used to drive me INSANE, but their fish sandwich was just worth it for me. Do they have a hiring guide that requires them to take on the surliest most inept and lazy servers on the planet? 45 minutes between the time we sat down and when we got our food one time. FORTY FIVE MINUTES.

Ah, yes, Friendly Cola. Basically slightly watered down syrup. I do miss the ripple fries they used to have.

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From the brains behind http://www.bigdumptruck.com