A Richmond Road institution has closed its doors for the last time.
The Friendly’s restaurant located at 1803 Richmond Road in York County shut down operations effective Nov. 30.
Joanna Roffo, a spokesperson for Massachusetts-based Friendly’s, said the company decided to close the location in anticipation of the expiration of its lease. She said it was not a franchised location.
The property is currently owned by O Ice LLC, a subsidiary of Realty Income Corporation, which leases commercial properties to businesses nationwide, including Friendly’s.
Friendly’s opened the Richmond Road location in June 1976. Ownership of the property transferred to O Ice LLC in September 2007, but the business remained in continuous operation.
The closing of the York County location is another development in a difficult period for Friendly’s. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2011, shuttering 63 stores in the process, four of which were in Virginia.
The company closed another 37 stores in January 2012, but managed to emerge from bankruptcy. Friendly’s has closed nearly 100 stores since initially filing for bankruptcy.
The Richmond Road Friendly’s was one of at least 15 locations nationwide to shut down in November, as the company also closed all 14 of its restaurants in Ohio.
Friendly’s continues to operate five locations in Virginia: one each in Burke, Chester, Fredericksburg, Midlothian and Sterling.
