Franchisees owning nearly 200 of Friendly Ice Cream Corp.’s restaurants weighed in today on the turmoil surrounding the chain.
In a letter sent to Friendly shareholders, the franchisees emphasized that they want to preserve the current Friendly business model, which includes franchise restaurants.
Stephen L. Scriver Sr., owner of a Friendly restaurant at the Longmeadow Shops, said “The Friendly franchise restaurants are a viable concern, it’s a good business, and we really want to preserve that.”
“Hopefully, investors, anybody that would consider buying Friendly, would understand there’s a vibrant franchise group that wants to work with whatever management (team) to ensure the ongoing success of Friendly restaurants,” he said.
The letter was prompted by Friendly’s announcement earlier this month that it is exploring strategic alternatives, including possibly selling the company.
The company is embroiled in a proxy fight with its largest stockholder, a Texas investor and entities he controls, who has been pressing the Friendly board of directors to grant him two seats on the board.
The board has resisted Sardar Biglari’s attempts to get on the board, though it offered him two seats with conditions that he rejected earlier this year. The proxy fight is slated to play out at the company’s May 9 annual meeting.
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