Wow, this is the second bankruptcy this week. East Coast-Based Friendly Ice Cream Corporation, operator of the Friendly's restaurant chain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. If you own a Friendly's Gift Card, go out there and redeem it ASAP.
According to Reuters, 63 locations (list here) will close and 424 will remain open. The company is said to have a buyer in waiting, an affiliate of Friendly's current owner Sun Capital Partners Inc.
It's great to see the company put a number to the locations they expect to close; however, I look at this as a minimum number of locations which will close. As we saw in the Charlie Brown's Steakhouse bankruptcy filing, the numbers can quickly increase.
Gift Cards Are Still Being Sold
I've put a note into Friendly's to see if gift cards will continue to be accepted during the bankruptcy proceedings. As of today, the company is still selling gift cards online. This indicates gift cards will be honored. Regardless, go out there and redeem your gift card.
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ScripSmart will send you helpful alerts for gift cards you own. From a handy monthly summary of the value of your gift cards, to bankruptcy alerts when a company in in jeopardy of going under. It's easy, just register your gift cards with ScripSmart and configure the alerts you'd like to receive. Create your account now.
