Levittown Friendly's Restaurant Closes, Workers Transferred

LEVITTOWN, NY — The Friendly's restaurant in Levittown has closed and workers were transferred to other locations nearby, including in East Meadow. The restaurant on Hempstead Turnpike closed in early September, workers in East Meadow told Patch on Friday.

While a report had said the store was closed due to financial reasons, workers disputed the claim Friday, saying they were told it had nothing to do with underperformance. Rather, the owner didn't want to renew the lease, they said.

The news of the closing was first reported by the Levittown Tribune.

An email seeking comment from Friendly's wasn't immediately returned Friday. A Google listing for the restaurant indicated the restaurant was permanently closed.

The ice cream and restaurant chain closed 23 restaurants across the Northeast in April, including 14 in upstate New York. At the time, CEO George Michel said affected workers would be offered jobs at other Friendly’s locations or offered severance. The shuttered restaurants were in locations that had seen dramatic changes since they'd first opened, Michel said.

Friendly and its franchisees have closed roughly 25 percent of its locations since 2017, according to Restaurant Business.

The chain began with a single location in Springfield in 1935.