Maine Used to Have 13 Friendly’s Restaurants. What Happened to Them?

Maine has only one Friendly's restaurant as of today, but that wasn't always the case.

Travel back in time to, say, the year 2000, and you'd find there were a bunch more locations in the state serving up classic burgers and a variety of ice creams. (Always had to save room for the Mint Cookie Crunch!)

Ever wonder what happened to them all? You might have even driven past a former Friendly's and not even realized it. I was able to find 13 of them from back in the day and what's in their spots now.

Friendly’s Started in Massachusetts and Once Had Over 850 Restaurants in the US

Friendly first opened in Massachusetts in 1935 (I didn't know it didn't get its apostrophe until 1989), over 90 years ago, according to its website. By 1951, there were 10 locations total in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The Washington Times reported that by the mid-'90s, Friendly's had reached its peak number of restaurants across the country at about 850.

The First Friendly's in the Portland Area Opened in 1970

I couldn't confirm the first Friendly's location in Maine, but through the Portland Public Library Special Collections & Archives, I was able to find a photo of the grand opening of the first one in the Portland area.

That would be in South Portland at 581 Main Street in 1970, which is now the site of a Dunkin'. Classic.

Another photo from the Portland Public Library Digital Commons indicated that another South Portland location opened in 1974, and that was right inside the Maine Mall. I always remembered just the one at 210 Maine Mall Road, but that clearly was a new spot to replace the Maine Mall one. Still, it must have been wild to do a little shopping in the mall and just walk on over for some Friendly's.

All of that said, it got me thinking about how the popular restaurant felt like it was everywhere back in the day, and so I took to the Wayback Machine, an internet archive of websites, to check out where and when 13 Friendly's locations existed and what they've become today.

Let's take a trip to the past!

READ MORE: There's a New Year-Round Ice Cream Shop That Just Opened in Maine

It's interesting to see the variety of transformations. You've got a few Five Guys spots, a dentist, a bank, and various other restaurants.

And when you see the side-by-side of some of these places, it's wild to view the transformation from the past to the present. Some spots still have that unmistakable Friendly's building design, too.

While the Washington Times revealed that there are only about 80 or so Friendly's locations left in the U.S. in 2026, Maine still has one Friendly's left.

That would be the Maine Mall Road location in South Portland, and it's still going strong.

Hopefully, it stands the test of time, and remains that iconic New England spot well into the future. Makes me want to go get some ice cream...