Friendly's Ice Cream, the East coast chain long recognizable by its bright red signs and wooden dining booths, is getting a makeover.
A press release from the nearly 80-year-old chain reveals that 10 of its New England restaurant locations will be relaunched on February 4 with revamped interiors and exteriors, a new menu and new products, re-trainings for staff and re-certifications for all restaurant personel. It's part of a wider initiative to "reposition the brand and bring it closer to its roots." Friendly's intends to see how customers respond to the upgrades before rolling them out nationwide.
Among the most interesting changes are those for waitstaff. Don't call your server a waiter -- from henceforth, at Friendly's he or she will be called a "memory maker." Ice cream scoopers? They're "scoopologists," marked by their red chef coats and blue aprons. We're all for marching toward the future, but there's something very "Office Space" about this all. Will they have to wear 37 pieces of flair as well?
Other updates are also saccharine sweet. Parking spaces will be branded with phrases like, “Front Row for Friendly’s Ice Cream Lovers” and “You & Ice Cream: Best Friends Forever.”
Inside, the booths will be there still, but updated in new colors. There'll be other seating options as well, including high top tables and chairs. Photographs of children enjoying ice cream cones will be plastered everywhere, which says something about this remodeling's target demographic.
Friendly's website has more details on the update, including its new menu and locations undergoing the change.
Click through the below slideshow for a look at what to expect.
