Friendly's has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. As a Waltham resident, I was blessed to have a Friendly's restaurant in my home town. Then, the unthinkable happened. The Friendly's in Lexington closed down and was repurposed into a Starbucks.
One-by-one, we were losing Friendly's restaurants. I watched them drop like flies. Eventually, my nightmare scenario was realized as the Waltham Friendly's was finally shut down for good.
All of a sudden, I realized that the closest Friendly's to where I lived was quite a long distance away. But so beloved is the food, the ice cream, and the ambiance there, that yes, I'm willing to travel to 250 Andover Street in Peabody for my Friendly's fix.
It's eerily similar to the Waltham setup, which is actually really nice as I tend to get nostalgic to the point of melancholy upon remembering all of the good times I used to have in the Waltham Friendly's. So, with all of that being said, here was a summary of my most recent experience in the Peabody Friendly's.
1 - It's always a painfully long wait at that Friendly's podium that they set up with the seating chart. And it's not like I can blame the staff.... Because there are so few of them left. Everyone's busy.
2 - Although they burnt my "medium" cheeseburger to something not even dental records could identify (...assuming burgers came with teeth), Lori (our waitress) took one look at it and offered to have a new burger prepared. I never like to send back food, but trust me, I was grateful to do so on this occasion.
She then told me that they lost a cook who just up and quit which was causing some culinary difficulties out in the back.
3 - When the new burger came out, it was PERFECT; as were the fries that she replenished free of charge. This was, overall, a great dining experience.
Some suggestions I'd make... and I do so delicately because I'm balancing my need to provide constructive criticism with not wanting to lose one of the few viable Friendly's restaurants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
A - Advertise that you're hiring.
B - Offer to pay a livable wage, then actually PAY it.
C - Make sure your existing and valued employees are being paid as well.
D - While we're talking money, give Lori a raise. Seriously, she was beyond wonderful with an inexplicably cheery disposition, even as she was gettin' slammed during the lunch rush. I gave her a healthy tip, of course, but she needs to be taken care of. She's someone who makes coming to this particular Friendly's a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
E - Try to hire more people. You need more waitstaff, cooks, and at minimum, someone who can greet new patrons. Yes, we watched prospective patrons walk out because nobody was even making eye contact with them.
F - Please keep this place open. I love it and I'd hate to see it go by the wayside like so many other Friendly's restaurants have done beforehand. read more