The Friendly Ice Cream Corporation was opening new shops at a rapid rate during the 1960s. Mayor Samuel Resnic announced that, due to the lack of a road leading to the Whiting Farms Industrial area, Friendly's was not interested in building a new ice cream plant in Holyoke. Wilbraham became the beneficiary of the new $1 million plant and later expansions.
On August 27, 1964, a new Friendly Ice Cream Shop was opened in the South Street Shopping Plaza, replacing the one that opened on January 17, 1957. The former location had 35 seats, and the new site offered both counter and booth service. There was room to allow for 67 seated patrons at the new 233 South Street location.
Many of the Friendly shops were open from 11 A.M. to midnight.
On June 24, 1967, a deed was recorded transferring ownership of property at the corner of Northampton and Ridgewood Streets. The sellers were Joan F. Flanders and Dorothy M. Bond. The property was sold to S. Prestley and Curtis L. Blake, Blake Brothers Company. As part of the sale, the Flanders home at 11 Ridgewood Ave. was moved to 89 Ridgewood Ave. On March 30, 1967, the house was resituated.
The new Friendly Restaurant at 1745 Northampton Street would seat 54 and provide parking for 30 cars. On September 8, 1967, the new restaurant, the third in the city, opened for business.
Alterations costing $10,000 were made to the restaurant at 435 Appleton Street in 1970.
When advertising for help, Friendly offered flexible working hours in 3-, 4-, and 5-hour shifts to meet the needs and life schedules of its workers.
From May 1971 to April 1972, the company opened 34 new shops, bringing its total to 317 restaurants. In December 1975, the company opened a new restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, the 500th in the chain.
Additional Friendly Restaurants opened in Holyoke after 1975, and the story will be told in the concluding chapter.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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