END OF AN ERA: Watch Video of Augusta, Maine, Friendly’s Being Demolished Monday Morning

It was a place that so many of us gathered over the years for delicious food and ice cream with family and friends, and now in just a short few minutes, it's gone.

It all began about four years ago in April of 2019 when employees of the Augusta, Maine Friendly's restaurant showed up to work as normal to open for the breakfast rush and were instead greeted with a sign on the front door that read,

"We apologize for disappointing you on this visit, but this location is now closed for business. We regret that we do not have another Friendly's Restaurant near you, but we hope that you will visit one of our other locations when travelling. We appreciate your patronage over the years and for allowing us to try and make the world Friendly, one scoop at a time. For media inquiries please contact Friendlysmedia@ficrg.com"

Fast forward four years and the building, since the day that it closed, has sat completely empty, dark and dormant. Gone are the days of families gathering around the colorful tables to order chicken fingers and a milkshake while celebrating a little league victory.

It's true, those days are now long gone. In its place is the big, and sometimes ugly, wheel of progress.

On August 21, 2023, that wheel turned, and with its turning, it brought down the only tangible memory of the popular Central Maine eatery that many of us had left.

Check out a video I grabbed this morning of the giant excavator taking bite after bite out of our core memories here on Western Ave in Augusta.

Also, ignore my dog Summit growling in the background. Obviously, he was fairly upset about this, too.