Massachusetts: The Last Friendly’s In Boston Has Closed

Boston's Logan Airport just got a bit less friendly. That's because it was home to the last Friendly's restaurant location in the greater city area. Unfortunately, this Friendly's has now closed.

"The sole remaining location of a regional chain of restaurants and ice cream shops inside Route 128 has shut down," NBC 10 Boston reported.

This popular chain restaurant has had a challenging time remaining in business since 2020. In fact, MassLive recently reported that two additional locations in the state are expected to close this year due to expiring leases. This would leave just 103 locations remaining.

The Boston (or East Boston) Logan restaurant has been removed from Friendly's website. NBC 10 Boston explained however, all is not lost, explaining, "the closest remaining Friendly's to the city being in Norwood, Peabody, and Weymouth."

My intent is certainly not to treat this Boston closing as the end of an era where Friendly's is gone for good. If nothing more, it's to reflect upon what makes me still go to Friendly's when possible.

To start, there was a great location down the road from where I grew up. It was a strong brick building with the classic signage. In order to get there, you had to take a winding road into the center of town where you would eventually come to a traffic light. It felt as if this light was always red. Perhaps Friendly's has something to do with that.

As your car inched up towards the light you would  begin to see that big red logo. It always felt as if it was smiling at you. At this point excitement was inevitable and Friendly's welcomed you in with open arms.

It's important to note here is that my trip to this location was usually with my grandfather. It was one of those "Papa takes the grandkids for a special treat" places. Although his aim was to please us of course, he truly loved that place as well.

The meal for us at this Friendly's was always and only ice cream. My sister would go for the fancier more elaborate ice cream options on the menu. I went with the same consistent thing each time. The Reese's cup where you had to peel off that frozen lid and then had the delicious peanut butter and chocolate top with some pieces throughout.

Nowadays, there is one Friendly's that is not too far from where I live. My daughter insisted that was where we would go for a recent birthday. After a few years of absence, it filled us with that feeling of sentimental cheer upon walking through its doors.

My order now is a bit different, given the lack of Reese's option. I opt for the double dish mint chocolate chip with the cone on top. Bonus points for Reese's topping and arranging the pieces into a smiley face in the ice cream.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) recently shared a study that details the top fast-food chains in the country based on customer satisfaction. While I agree with the top choice, the others are questionable. And hey, taste is subjective. I'm something of a fast-food restaurant connoisseur.  So, here I will re-rank the country's top five fast-food restaurant chains based on personal experience. (Hence, "Definitive" in quotes in the headline.)

First, let's examine the numbers in this report, as there are certainly some valuable points to consider. It appears as if their customer satisfaction entails 11 important factors. These include areas such as the accuracy of food orders, staff courtesy, and cleanliness. Another important measurement these days is the efficiency of the chain's app.

The ACSI report is based on 16,250 customers who were surveyed. Their top five looked like this:

Technically "other" landed at number three, but for the sake of top brands, that is the top of the list.

While I do like the variety in cuisine displayed in ACSI's list, I am surprised at many of the names I see there. To create this ranking, I did follow and considered the customer satisfaction criteria previously laid out in the survey. Though I am a drive-thru-first type of person, I will quickly peel out of the parking lot if I detect the joint doesn't look like it takes cleanliness seriously. Regardless of how much I am craving that chicken sandwich. In other words, those scored questions are legit measurements.

It's worth mentioning that I travel quite a bit as well. Whether taking my kids to a weekend lacrosse tournament or heading south to visit family, a fast-food meal is often all I have time for. Nonetheless, I don't just stop for anything, and I do aim for the healthiest option possible (most of the time).

So, imagine I just pulled off a magical interstate exit where all of these fast food restaurants had an open establishment. I'm considering the criteria points ACSI has laid out, and looking for a quality meal. Here is my official re-ranking of the top five fast-food restaurant chains in the country.

*Side-note, the ACSI also includes statistic results on full-service chain restaurants. That is not applicable to my ranking, but Chili's is the clear number one, with all the rest being second.

I'm a pizza enthusiast, let's just get that out of the way. Remember, this ranking is for fast-food chains so that local brick oven establishment that you love doesn't count here. Pizza Hut represents nostalgia for me. That deep dish out of the cast-iron pan has consistency. Plus, there's the individual size that easy to eat in the car. If this location happens to be one of the old school hut style designs with the lunch buffet, then it would rank even higher than five.

ONLY for the fries and coke with crushed ice. If McDonald's did not have these two items, it would not be on the list and I would never go here. These are the only two menu items I ever order, and each time I have the same reaction where I appreciate how good and consistent the fries are.

I think this is the only fast-food establishment where I order vegetables. That has to be worth something. Fresh peppers in a burrito any day of the week. If my wallet is feeling crazy, I'll throw a mound of their guacamole on any order. Plus, there's nothing like getting one of those fresh chips that is folded over three others and accidentally smothered in extra salt.

I really want to put Jersey Mike's here but it is not on the ACSI survey (perhaps since there aren't as many of them). Wendy's takes this spot due to the little things they offer. The nuggets are best "traditional" nuggets in the game. Plus, the baked potato with appropriate toppings is a subtle curveball to fast-food world that has the ability to serve as the secret weapon. The frosty is always reminds me of "Mr. Deeds" which means I have to get it (and it's delicious).

No surprises here. It holds strong as the king of the fast food mountain in my definitive list. That #1 chicken sandwich meal is clutch every time. Add in their own style of nuggets and it's no wonder why Chick-fil-A always has a line. Furthermore, I find each location has very professional and well-trained staff. The real bonus point here is that I recently discovered the chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich. Needless to say, Chick-fil-A is the only of these fast-food establishments I can hit for any meal of the day.