Friendly's restaurant in Webster closing permanently
WEBSTER – Another Friendly's restaurant is closing its doors for good.
The chain's location in Webster is closing permanently after it closes Monday at 9:30 p.m.
The Friendly's website now lists 24 locations still open in Massachusetts and two in New Hampshire.
Friendly's was founded in 1935. The first shop opened in Springfield, and the second one came five years later in West Springfield.
By 1951, there were 10 Friendly's operating in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. S. Prestley Blake, who co-founded Friendly's with his brother and turned it into a national chain, died at 106 years old in 2021.
The regional favorite has seen a steady string of closures in recent years. In 2019, Friendly's closed 23 restaurants in the northeast. The last Friendly's on Cape Cod closed for good in 2020.