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Updated RecentlyFriendly's Restaurants Cost Comparisons
About Friendly's Restaurants
In Springfield, Massachusetts at the height of the Great Depression in 1935, 20 year-old Prestley Blake and his 18 year-old brother Curtis opened an ice cream shop called 'Friendly' that served double-dip cones for 5 cents. The brothers opened a second shop five years later in West Springfield, Massachusetts and added food to the menu. Within a decade, locations opened throughout western Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1988 Donald N. Smith, the company's current CEO, purchased the company and a year later added an 's' to the name, making it 'Friendly's.'
In May 2000, Friendly's introduced a new food and dessert menu featuring colossal burgers, sandwich wraps, splits, sundaes and Cyclones. Friendly's produces 10 million snack cups and 230,000 gallons of fudge every year. In addition to its restaurants and cafes, Friendly's manufactures a complete line of frozen desserts.
Full Service Restaurant Franchise Opportunities
Below is a quick comparison of Friendly's Restaurants against other Full Service Restaurant franchises and business opportunities. For an in depth comparison of Friendly's Restaurants with another opportunity including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options click on the name of the company to view the detailed comparison.
| Franchise | Franchise Fee | Royalty | Advertising Fee | Development Costs |
| 5 & Diner | $35,000 | 5% | $250,000-$750,000 | |
| abc Country Restaurants | $50,000 | 4% | 2% | $250,000-$700,000 |
| Albert's Family Restaurant | $25,000 | $280,000-$400,000 | ||
| Another Broken Egg Cafe | $50,000 | 5% | 1% | $505,500-$1,175,500 |
| Applebee's | $35,000 | 4% initially, 5% possible after | not less than 4% | $2,009,038-$8,267,250 |
| Applejack's | $25,000 | 4% | 2% | $250,000-$275,000 |
| Arthur Treacher's | $30,000 | 5% | $145,000-$268,000 | |
| Au Vieux Duluth Express | $30,000-$40,000 | $175,000-$500,000 | ||
| Bar Louie | $50,000 | 5% | 2% local, 1%Nat'l | $923,500-$3,707,333 |
| Baton Rouge Restaurant | $60,000 | 5% | 2% | $1,600,000-$1,800,000 |
| Ben & Florentine Restaurants | $35,000 | 6% | $619,650-$817,800 | |
| Bennigan's Grill & Tavern | $35,000 | 4% | 1% | $1,027,075-$3,588,244 |
| Best of Mediterranean | $20,000 | 4% | $126,300-$574,700 | |
| Big Boy Restaurants | $40,000 | 4% | 1% local +2% Nat'l | $861,800-$3,568,000 |
| Black Bear Diners | $55,000 | 4.5% | 1% | $1,133,800-$2,114,200 |
| Black Rock Bar & Grill | $50,000 | 4% | 1% | $1,519,940-$2,957,625 |
| Bombshells Restaurant | $50,000 | 5.5% | $1,731,000-$3,086,000 | |
| Boscos | N/A | $827,000-$994,000 | ||
| Browns Socialhouse | $50,000 | 6% | $2,000,000-$2,500,000 | |
| Casey's | $60,000 | 5% | 4% | $500,000-$1,600,000 |
| Chocolate Bar | N/A | $250,000-$500,000 | ||
| Cool Hand Luke's | $50,000 | $373,000-$1,817,500 | ||
| Cool-de-Sac | $75,000 | 6% | $858,700-$1,988,667 | |
| Cosi Inc | $40,000 | 5% | 2% | $762,600-$899,800 |
| Country Kitchen | $40,000 | 4% | 3% local + 1% Int'l | $425,000-$1,685,000 |
| Denny's | $10,000-$30,000 | 4.5%-7% | 3%-3.5% | $305,000-$2,404,695 |
| Dunn's Famous | $20,000-$50,000 | 5% | 2%Nat'l+1% Local | $150,000-$800,000 |
| Eggspectation | $50,000 | 5% | 2% Nat'l 1% local | $650,000-$1,500,000 |
| Einstein Bros. Bagels | $35,000 | 5% | 5% | $138,550-$935,850 |
| Elmer's | $40,000 | 4% | 1% | $712,000-$3,209,500 |
| Fresh To Order | $30,000 | $489,500-$646,500 | ||
| Friendly Banners | $30,000 | 4% | 2% | $450,000 |
| Gandolfo's New York Delicatessen | $25,000 | 6% | 2% local +1% Nat'l | $302,450-$558,950 |
| George Webb Restaurants | $250,000 | $402,000-$850,000 | ||
| Giorgio Restaurants | $25,000-$50,000 | 4.5%-7% | $175,000-$500,000 | |
| Golden Corral | $50,000 | 4% | 2.4% | $2,700,795-$7,037,915 |
| Golden Griddle | $25,000 | 5% | $100,000-$450,000 | |
| Great Steak | $30,000 | 6% | $155,900-$520,300 | |
| Hard Rock Cafe | $350,000-$750,000 | $2,995,000-$4,910,000 | ||
| Hard Times Cafe | $30,000 | $449,000-$1,000,000 | ||
| Hooters | $75,000 | 5% | 2.5% | $956,500-$4,275,000 |
| Houlihan's | $40,000 | 4% | $1,600,000-$4,300,000 | |
| House of Jazz | $75,000 | 5% | 2% | $750,000-$1,200,000 |
| Humpty's | $30,000 | 5% | 2% | $495,000-$695,000 |
| I Dream of Falafel | $25,000 | 5% | 3% | $337,811-$470,302 |
| IHOP | $40,000-$50,000 | 4.5% | 3.5% | $414,866-$3,374,043 |
| IL FORNELLO | $35,000 | 4% | 1% | $100,000-$700,000 |
| Indigo Joe's | $30,000 | 5% | 1.5% | $1,200,000-$1,300,000 |
| Kayson's Grille | $25,000 | 5% | 1% | $489,700-$618,000 |
| Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants | $75,000 | 5% | $49,789,087-$70,127,050 | |
| L and L Franchise | $30,000 | 3%-4% | 1%-2% | $133,700-$535,000 |
| La Madeleine | $40,000 | 5% | 2.5% | $1,249,362-$3,088,747 |
| La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill | $25,000-$50,000 | 5% | 3% | $189,550-$992,590 |
| Manhattan Bagel | $25,000 | 5% | 5% | $481,000-$705,000 |
| Manny's Grill | $25,000 | 5% | $171,235-$516,652 | |
| Max & Erma's | $40,000 | 4% | $622,500-$3,100,000 | |
| McAlister's Deli | $15,000-$35,000 | 5% | 3% | $398,000-$2,094,200 |
| Miami Grill | $30,000 | 6% | 3% | $175,000-And Up |
| Naples Tomato | $30,000 | 5% | 5% | $1,353,000-$1,892,500 |
| Original Joe's | $39,000 | 5% | 2% | $950,000 |
| Palapas Restaurants | $30,000 | 5% | $750,000-$2,000,000 | |
| Pantry, The | $40,000 | $450,000-$600,000 | ||
| Perkins | $40,000 | 4% | $1,557,975-$2,742,975 | |
| Perko's Cafe Grill | $35,000 | 4% | $292,500-$1,357,000 | |
| Quaker Steak & Lube | $40,000 | 5% | 3% | $1,800,000-$3,700,000 |
| Red Hot & Blue | $45,000 | 5% | $380,700-$1,000,000 | |
| Rhapsody's | $42,500-$56,000 | 6% | 1 - 3% | $565,000-And Up |
| Ricky's | $45,000 | 4.5% | 3% | $800,000-$950,000 |
| Ricky's All Day Grill | $45,000 | 5% | 3% | $300,000-And Up |
| Roy Rogers | $30,000 | 5% | 3% | $767,250-$1,580,950 |
| Ruby Tuesday | $35,000 | 4% of gross sales | 1.5% of gross sales | $1,559,650-$3,877,400 |
| Salsarita's Fresh Cantina | $30,000 | 5% | 1% Nat'l 1.5% Local | $283,150-$563,900 |
| Sam & Louie's N Y Pizza | $25,000 | 5% | $331,500-$474,700 | |
| Sammy J Peppers | $50,000 | $750,000-$1,500,000 | ||
| Seacrets | $45,000 | 6% and 10% from hotel | 1% local | $1,639,333-$3,061,667 |
| Shingle Inn Cafes | N/A | $250,001-$450,000 | ||
| Shoney's Restaurants | $25,000-$35,000 | 2.5-3.5% | $568,000-$2,800,000 | |
| Smitty's Restaurants | $35,000 | $400,000-$600,000 | ||
| Soul De Cuba Cafe | $65,000 | 6% | $160,350-$487,000 | |
| Soul Fixins' Restaurant | $30,000 | 5% | $274,000-$524,000 | |
| South Philly Steak & Fries | $25,000 | $292,500-$464,500 | ||
| Symposium Cafe | $40,000 | 4% | 1% | $625,000-$675,000 |
| T.G.I. Friday's | N/A | $1,000,000-$3,000,000 | ||
| Taste Of Mediterranean | $12,000-$20,000 | $1,000. a month, Flat Fee. | 2% | $99,000-And Up |
| Tin Star Restaurant | $20,000-$35,000 | 4% | $500,000 | |
| Twin Peaks | $50,000 | 5% | 3% | $1,309,800-$2,365,900 |
| Uccello's Ristorante, Pizzeria & Sports Lounge | $50,000 | 5% | 5% | $1,332,100-$1,958,333 |
| uWink | $50,000 | 4% + 2% Technology Fee | 1% | $1,645,000-$3,472,000 |
| Village Inn Restaurants | $40,000 | 4% | 1%local +0.5%Nat'l | $963,000-$2,570,000 |
| Western Sizzlin | $30,000 | 3% | $811,000-$2,300,000 | |
| White Hen Pantry | $30,000 | Varies | $52,400-$225,200 | |
| White Spot Restaurants | $75,000 | $900,000-And Up | ||
| Wimpys Diner | $30,000 | 4% | 2% | $250,000-$500,000 |
| Winger's Grill & Bar | $35,000 | 4% | $150,000-$550,000 | |
| Zaxby's | $35,000 | 6% | 2.87%-5% | $343,200-$695,200 |