Friendly’s

Our family, two adults two kids went Saturday, 3:30 after a church affair. We waited almost an hour for our food, and the kids were so hungry and bored we were getting ready to leave and go to Wendy’s across the street. When our food finally came, the chicken tenders were «hard» with a thick, cardboard-​like coating, rather than crispy and tender. I ordered a special I was charged full price for a different meal. We then had to wait and get the manager to correct it, which he did with a smile and an apology. Overall, It was such a negative experience, we absolutely will not go back there.

I write this review as a tribute to Friendly’s. As many of you know Friendly’s is going out of business, as well as filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Without having a full service bar, Friendly’s could no longer compete in a competitive restaurant marketplace. Friendly’s held on to old school ideas, without a single thought of changing the way it wanted to run its restaurants. It was given severe budget restraints, which crippled service and food production. The Kessler’s who ran Friendly’s a good majority of this past decade knew they were getting into a franchise that was NOT going to last in the long run. Therefor, they did very little to save the restaurant. I finally understand as to why the upper management team did not want to change the way things operated in the first place. Friendly’s will ALWAYS be where ice-​cream makes the meal. It’s were kids can be kids, and adults can be kids again. Friendly’s had amazing campaigns for the children to enjoy during there visit, like the High-​5 program. Children got a neat little trophy to assemble with the family at the table, and then they got to show it off briefly in the restaurant (when they weren’t torn down right away of course). Friendly’s is still the best ice-​cream in town, and this review is to highlight what is the best on the menu to eat while you still can.
Breakfast– BEST MEAL HERE! Friendly’s is TOP notch when it comes to breakfast. I am going to miss their Lumberjack Breakfast. 3 extra-​large farm-​fresh eggs made to order. Served with apple-​wood smoked bacon and your choice of 3 fluffy buttermilk pancakes or 3 slices of Brioche French Toast and whipped butter. Most of these ingredients were made from scratch at the restaurant every morning. Friendly’s hickory apple smoked bacon was a signature item for decades.
Dinner: The world famous Honey BBQ Chicken Supermelt. What a great idea it was to combine chicken fingers dunked in sweet honey bbq sauce with melted Cheddar cheese. All of this on sourdough bread with apple-​wood smoked bacon doused in lot’s of ranch! Total guilty pleasure, and a great sandwich to eat after doing a lot of drinking during the night. The Bourbon Bbq Chicken entrée was extremely delicious, and totally under-​rated. Two juicy chicken breasts grilled in bourbon bbq sauce topped with melted monterey jack and cheddar cheeses, crumbled bacon, and served on a bed of fronions. Came with mashed potatoes, corn, and garlic bread. Now this was a MEAL, the bourbon bbq sauce under the layer of cheese tasted AMAZING. Then putting crumbled bacon on top of the cheeses, is an excellent crunchy finish. The corn at Friendly’s was sweet, for frozen corn. The Sirloin Steak Tips was another under-​rated item that tasted great. Juicy sirloin steak tips, brushed with a rich Worcestershire steak glaze and then topped with fresh sauteed onions, green peppers and baby portabella mushrooms, on a bed of mashed potatoes with garden vegetables and grilled buttery garlic bread The servers just never knew how to up-​sell these items to the guests, so they were quietly tucked away in the back of the menu.
Ice-​Cream: BEST quality ice-​cream around town! Ice-​cream here was such a necessity to have at the end of your meal. The reason guests started to NOT order ice-​cream is because of the wait time to get it. The Fountain area was ALWAYS understaffed. They never wanted to just have a worker handle the To-​Go station… BIG MISTAKE. Most of the time management would get bogged down back here, clearly damaging the front of house. TOP ICE-​CREAM FLAVORS (yes I tried them ALL)…Maple Walnut, Purely Pistachio, Nuts Over Caramel, Orange Sherbert, and Peppermint Stick. Top Friend-​z (soft-​serve combinations)…Strawberry Banana, Strawberry Cheesecake, Birthday Cake, and the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Ice-​Cream Drinks– THE STRAWBERRY FRIBBLE, and the Orange Slammer.
Overall– Top Breakfast Combinations, Supermelt’s, Bourbon Bbq Chicken, Steak Tips, Corn, Ice-​Cream, Fribble, Slammer, and Chicken Strips… I am going to miss you Friendly’s!!!

Place is way better than I remembered. Revamped menu, great service team and solid value.

Oh I have a soft spot for Friendly’s. I remember going to my neighborhood Friendly’s when I was a little kid, and a «tween» years ago. Now, my kids love it too. It is one of their favorite restaurants (take that any way you will) This local is quite popular and you may have to wait for a table during peak times. My waitress was very sweet and very apologetic for the lonng wait. But she was definitely hustling, and she did a good job. The food here is the same as any other Friendly’s in any other town, which is probably why I like it. The prices are very reasonable, and this local is open pretty late. You could definitely get better food and ice cream at other places in town but… it is what it is.

Delicious fish sandwiches and hot fudge sundaes. Personable and efficient service.

Came here on a whim to meet up with my fiancée’s mom for a late post-​dinner snack.
This location has been here for as long as I can remember (which is about 24 years or so, the first 2 years of my life were a little blurry), next to the K mart on Ridge Road. It hasn’t changed much and still gives that old greasy spoon classic family diner feel. You walk in and there is the ice cream station immediately on the left, then you enter the restaurant proper, which has a number of booths snugly filling a dining area. The décor is plain and a little bland, but it definitely retains that retro feel. I estimate about 120 people can fit in here on a busy day.
The menu is your typical American diner fare, with a few appetizers, an appetizer sampler, soups, salads, build your own burger, other sandwiches, and some platters. Of course, they have an entire menu devoted to ice cream and various forms of ice cream. They have a number of flavors as well. I got the reuben with fries for $ 9. The reuben was «meh» at best, but the fries were decently crispy. I dipped them in my fiancée’s mocha ice cream, which reminded me a lot of dipping Wendy’s fries in the Frosty. The reuben had an average amount of meat, but the meat hardly had any corned beef flavor. It tasted like it had just been pulled out of a brine and microwaved. There was a bit of sauerkraut that seems like it was pulled from a can. At least there was real Swiss cheese on it. I didn’t really eat much of anything else. But I have never been really impressed with this place anyway. My fiancée’s mom got a burger with fries that she stated «hit the spot.» More power to her I guess.
The service was kind of odd. Our waitress seemed a bit awkward and I cannot tell if she actually has some sort of condition or if she simply has no social skills. I’ll kind of leave it at that.
The atmosphere is casual. Some oldies were playing overhead. A bland, retro style diner that needs a lot of improvement. Perhaps a stint on Restaurant Impossible? Review is for 1.5 stars.