About Us
In 1935, 20 year-old Prestley and 18 year-old Curtis Blake opened a neighborhood ice cream shop in their hometown of Springfield, Mass., selling double-dip cones for five cents. The young entrepreneurs named the business “Friendly” with the intention of providing warm, caring, neighborly service to all of their guests.
When the Blake brothers opened their second location in West Springfield, Mass., a customer convinced them to add food to the menu. The first item was a hamburger, which would later turn into the famous Friendly’s Big Beef®.
In 1941, the restaurant introduced one of its signature ice cream creations, the Banana Imperial, Friendly’s version of the banana split. In 1969, the dessert was given its iconic name, the Jim Dandy.
In 1965, Friendly’s introduced its super-thick milkshake. Following an employee contest to find a name for the shake, it was launched as the Fribble® in 1977.
By 1974, Friendly’s was a chain of 500 restaurants concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
In keeping with their customers’ habit of making the brand name possessive, the apostrophe “s” was added to the name in 1989, making the restaurants truly “Friendly’s.”
To further expand the business, Friendly’s established franchising in 1997. They entered into a Franchise agreement with JMC Restaurant Group, INC. In September, 1998. JMC opened the Friendly’s Restaurant in Tannersville Pennsylvania, and is one of the first privately owned Friendly’s Franchises in the country.
In 2018, the locally owned and operated, Friendly’s in Tannersville will be celebrating it’s 20th year!
Every day, the management team and employees of this well known Pocono restaurant work hard to provide the best dining experience for their guests. This, along with the Great Food and Ice Cream makes Friendly’s in Tannersville a favorite amongst Pocono locals and tourists alike!
