Friendly’s parent company sold to NJ franchisee

SPRINGFIELD — Friendly's parent company has been sold to Legacy Brands International, an investment group managed by franchisee Amol Kohli, the companies announced this week.

"Friendly's has been a part of my life since I was 15. I started as a breakfast table waiter, which evolved into owning, managing, developing and overseeing several locations over the last 16 years," Kohli said in a statement.

Kohli owns five of the 13 Friendly's locations in New Jersey, according to published reports .

The Friendly's at 1519 North Main St. in Palmer closed Monday with workers Wednesday, June 21 on scene cleaning up.

Friendly's is celebrating its 90th anniversary, founded by brothers S. Prestley and Curtis Blake in Springfield's Pine Point neighborhood in 1935. They grew slowly at first, eventually exploding to a high of 800 locations up and down the East Coast by the 1970s.

Today, there are only about 100 locations left. One on Riverdale Street in West Springfield closed last year and will become a Chick-fil-A.

But Kohli promises a focus on expansion for Friendly's into target markets, like Georgia, the Carolinas and farther South into Texas.

The parent company, Brix Holdings, will continue to be headquartered in Dallas, according to the statement. The sale also includes other Brix Holdings brands, such as Clean Juice, Orange Leaf, Red Mango, Smoothie Factory + Kitchen, Souper Salad, and Humble Donut Co.

Sherif Mityas, CEO of Brix, will stay on.

The ice cream factory and one-time headquarters in Wilbraham were sold, and ice cream is manufactured there by farmer-owned co-op Dairy Farmers of America.

Read the original article on MassLive .