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Firms agree on sale of 70Elby’s locationsFrom Mirror and UPI reportsWILBRAHAM. Mass (UPI) -The Friendly Ice Cream Corp intends to make the Elby’s Family Restaurant chain of West Virginia its latest acquisition. Friendly officials announced Friday.1Jie acquisition will not mean that franchise operations like the Elby's restaurants in Altoona and State College will change hands. Instead, the owners of those restaurants will simply deal with a new franchiser. But even those restaurants could be affected by potentially stronger marketing efforts and greater purchasing power, officials close to the deal said Friday.Friendly and the Boury Corp. of Wheeling, W Va.. which operates Elby's. have signed a letter of intent on the sale and will immediately begin negotiations toward completion of the merger. President John F. Cauley Jr. said Friendly officials declined to divulge the potential price of the transaction or further details of the planned sale There are 70 Elby's restaurants in Pennsylvania. West Virginia and Ohio, as well as a commissary in Martin's Ferry. Ohio The Elby's Restaurant in Johnstown is among those that will change hands in the merger, according to Monty Murphy, manager of Johnstown’s Elby's. Murphy said he was unaware of any pending changes in staff or service due to the pending merger.At this time, with me as a franchisee, there will be no change at the Altoona and State College restaurants. L B Thomas of State College said Friday What they're doing is buying the company storesBut the acquisition, he said, 1A f __^might mean the company will push | * the name of Elby's across a i ' broader geographic region.On Oct. 3. Friendly's announced purchase of the Franklin Restaurant Corp. of Kingston. Pa., for an undisclosed price. Friendly's, which twas acquired by the Hershey Foods |Corp of Hershey. Pa., in 1979, runs more than 700 restaurants in 17 states.There ore no plans to reduce cElby’s workforce or reorganize its management if the sale goes through, said James A. Velis, | j Friendly director of public affairs.Friendly is in a growth mode. yVelis said. We've opened over 60 sstores this year alone and expanded *into new regions in Washington.D C., and the Orlando. Fla. areas.As part of this growth pattern in our industry, acquisition is a viable con- rc sideration It is not known when acquisition d of Elby's may be complete. Velis £ said.Elby's. like Franklin's, will keep its own name if sold, he saidThey are successful operations and we see their growth potential as very viable. he said. j pFriendly, founded in Springfield. ° marked its 50th anniversary last summer. nSince Hershey bought the com- J pany. sales have increased 80 I » percent and profits 90 percent, of- o finals saidElby's jibes with the Friendly concept of family-oriented restaurants. though it offers a broader menu. Velis said. I -The company purchased Franklin's from Marvin Franklin of 1 Wheeling At the time. Franklin's j [r maintained 12 full-service restau- i S rants and commissaries, mainly in * the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton areas of « Pennsylvania.P'
Newspaper Details
Altoona Mirror
Altoona, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Apr 05, 1986
Page 27
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert T.
NY, USA 10 Nov 2016
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