Dover, a town becoming noted for it's great restaurants, saw one if it's most storied franchises permanently close their doors earlier this week.

Friendly's on Central Ave. in Dover abruptly closed for business on Sunday. According to Fosters, Bill Chiccarelli, the public relations manager for the restaurant chain said in an email statement:

“On Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, FIC Restaurants, Inc. closed its Friendly’s location in Dover, N.H. The restaurant will cease operations, effective immediately. Staff members have been offered positions in other nearby locations and some financial assistance is being provided. Friendly’s ... values its guests and thanks them for their patronage. We encourage our guests from Dover to visit our other N.H. locations.” Customers were referred to its Rochester location on South Main Street.

WBZ-TV in Boston reports that five other Friendly's locations in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York also closed their doors this past weekend.

So many Friendly's have closed over the past few years. This closing is particularly sad. Someone told me it had been there for almost thirty years. I loved taking my boys there for ice cream sundaes on really hot days.

Fosters claims workers were seen boarding up windows on Monday. And a sign on the entrance, “We apologize for disappointing you on this visit, but this location is now closed for business.”

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