Friendly Ice Cream

Prestley Blake & Curtis Blake - 1935

Friendly Ice Cream was founded in 1935, the height of the Great Depression,  by the two Blake brothers pictured at right, in Springfield, Massachusetts with $547.00 they borrowed from their parents.  Business took off with their offering of a $0.05 double-dip ice cream cone.  The hamburger was added to keep customers coming in during the winter months.

By 1940, the brothers had earned enough money to hire their first employee and open a second store in West Springfield, Massachusetts. They closed their shops during WWII from 1943-1945 declaring "closed until we win the war!"  By 1951 they had opened 10 shops in Massachusetts & Connecticut.



The '60's was an era of expansion.  Friendly Ice Cream moved its corporate headquarters to Wilbraham, Massachusetts and the company went public with a stock offering.  In 1979, the Blake Brothers sold it for $160 million to Hershey Foods with more than 600 locations. Several other management changes and expansions have taken place, but none have accomplished what the Blake brothers did during the hay-day of Friendly Ice Cream.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in
October of 2011.  Consultant Dennis Lombardi says the filing might be just what Friendly's needs to ditch its unprofitable stores and rebuild.  He believes that it will be a stronger brand five years from now.

Friendly's has a proud 77- year history.  Future generations deserve to create their own memories at Friendly Ice Cream too.