Friendly's Ice Cream

After emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012, the Wilbraham, Mass.-based family dining company embarked on a repositioning effort that calls for a new focus on its core menu products — burgers, melts, fried fish, French fries and shakes. Owned by Sun Capital Partners Inc., the 77-year-old chain generated U.S. systemwide sales of $559.6 million for the year ended Dec. 2011 — which does not include its retail ice cream division. The chain closed out the year with 411 units, largely in the northeastern United States.