Friendly's Closes 6 Restaurants In Northeast

SPRINGFIELD (CBS) – Six Friendly's locations in the northeast are now closed, the iconic restaurant chain says.

Reports surfaced this weekend of Friendly's in Springfield, Mass.; Seekonk, Mass; Dover, NH; Bennington, Vt.; Rutland, Vt. and East Greenbush, N.Y. all shutting their doors.

In a statement to WBZ-TV, Friendly's confirmed it had closed restaurants in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.

"Over the past few years, we have identified and minimized the number of locations that no longer deliver the customer experience that we are working to create," Friendly's says. "As we move forward, our goal is to open locations with improved service and value for our customers, like the restaurants that have recently opened in Marlborough, Massachusetts and Merrimack, New Hampshire."

Friendly's says it is working to transfer many employees to other locations and is "providing short term financial assistance, in lieu of notice" to others.

There are still 200 Friendly's locations on the East Coast.