Friendly’s on Route 1 is now closed
Joining the likes of restaurant chains Hooters, TGI Fridays and Ruby Tuesday, the Route 1 Rehoboth location of Friendly’s has closed.
The restaurant shut its doors in early July without any notice. The sign on Route 1 says the restaurant is open, but the chain’s familiar red script lettering has been removed from the building.
It’s unclear exactly why this specific location closed, but Friendly’s parent company, FIC Restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2020. The company was sold to Amici Partners Group LLC in January 2021.
In a press release announcing the corporate sale, Amici Partners said it planned to keep all 130 locations open.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories, random stories on subjects he finds interesting and has a column called ‘Choppin’ Wood’ that runs every other week. Additionally, Chris moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes during daylight hours that are jammed with coins, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
