Many local families are sad to see their neighborhood Friendly’s go after years of enjoying casual dining at their establishment… myself included! It appears the economy hasn’t been so “friendly” to Friendly’s, though, and they had some tough calls to make.
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2011, Friendly’s
restructured. They had previously closed 63 locations across the Northeast and recently closed 37 locations (including our 5 local ones) in order to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization this week. It came as a surprise to most (including many Friendly’s
employees) that so many locations would close their doors this week. Now
many area families are not only without their favorite dining
establishment, but without a job! This is a sad reality.
The recent closures of five local Friendly’s locations leaves Albany County void of a single Friendly’s restaurant. The Friendly’s locations that closed this week include:
- Friendly’s on Central Ave in Albany – CLOSED
- Friendly’s at Colonie Center on Wolf Rd in Colonie – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Route 7 in Latham – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Route 9 in Latham – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Saratoga
Road in Glenville – CLOSED
Formerly closed locations include:
- Friendly’s on Altamont Ave in Rotterdam – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Congress Street in Saratoga Springs – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Delaware Ave in
Delmar – CLOSED - Friendly’s on Upper Glen Street in Glens Falls – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Western Ave in Guilderland – CLOSED
- Friendly’s on Wolf Rd in Colonie (separate from the mall) – CLOSED
When you see it all laid out like this, you realize just how many local
Friendly’s have closed recently. And you may be wondering… are their
any local Friendly’s locations left? Well, the answer is simply, a few.
Friendly’s Still Open In The Capital Region:
- Troy Plaza on Hoosick
Street in Troy – OPEN - Route 146 in Clifton Park – OPEN
- Route 4 in East Greenbush – OPEN
- Route 50 in Saratoga Springs – OPEN
- Aviation Road in
Glens Falls – OPEN
If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking… why did they close both Friendly’s locations and leave the Troy location open? Every time I was at the Route 9 location (including just a few weeks ago) it was very busy. Every time I am in the Troy location, it isn’t nearly as busy and the service much worse. As I understand it, though, business is not so much about being busy as it is about making profits, and I’m sure the lease is much lower at the Troy location.
My new go-to Friendly’s will be the Clifton Park location, which is very nice, but usually very crowded (and probably will be even more so with all the recent closures). Time will tell.
If you have Friendly’s gift cards
or a craving for their honey mustard dressing (best around in my
opinion), there are still a few locations within reasonable driving
distance. My advice to you, however, would be to get there as soon as you can just in case they decide to close more doors unexpectedly.
