Another New York Southern Tier Friendly’s Restaurant Closes

Another Friendly's Restaurant in the Southern Tier of New York will no longer serving their famous Fishamajig Super Melt Sandwich and fries followed by a delicious hot fudge brownie sundae (that's what I usually order), or any other item on the menu for that matter.

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If I recall correctly, the Triple Cities area once had Friendly's Restaurants on the Vestal Parkway, Upper Front Street Binghamton, Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, Main Street Endicott and Harry L Drive In Johnson City. Only the Harry L Drive location remains.

And now, the only remaining Friendly's Restaurant in the Elmira area has just closed. According to the website My Twin Tiers, the Miracle Mile Horseheads Friendly’s Restaurant has permanently closed.

The My Twin Tiers article notes that the restaurant closed over the weekend and that employees were given the option to transfer to the Johnson City Friendly’s Restaurant.

Checking the Friendly's Restaurant website locator, I counted just eight Friendly's Restaurants left in Upstate New York, including Johnson City, Cortland, Olean, Liverpool, New Hartford, Johnstown, Clifton Park, Troy, and Queensbury. Long Island has 12 that I counted, and there is also a Friendly's Restaurant located in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

The Dayton Daily News website noted in an article published on April 26th, 2023, there were 119 Friendly's Restaurants still operating in the USA, with most located in New York State, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. In 1974, there were 500 Friendly's in operation according to their website.

The Dayton Daily News also mentions Friendly's restaurants are still operating in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Carolina.

The Friendly's website notes that the first restaurant opened in 1935.

The Blake Brothers founded their first ice cream shoppe in Springfield, Massachusetts and named it “Friendly.” The name was a promise that the small ice cream shoppe would be a friendly place for families to enjoy a meal together. We still believe in that promise. - Friendly's