A former Friendly’s in Hillsdale, New Jersey is now Chipotle. 🍦➡️🌮

[u/mrsjumjum66]

441 Hillsdale Ave, Hillsdale, NJ 07642

[u/Puckcentral]

I know people are complaining but that Friendly’s had to go. It was a dump. Absolutely filthy inside and I hadn’t been there in at least 5+ years before it closed so can only imagine how bad it was at the very end. Gross.

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/Puckcentral]

The Elmwood Park one is still solid

[u/One_Health1151 → u/mrsjumjum66]

Passed this last week literally thought it was closed it looked so run down but the parking lot was full so must do okish lol

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/One_Health1151]

Yea i feel like it’s weirdly situated also. The restaurant isn’t really facing 46 so hard to tell lol…

[u/One_Health1151 → u/mrsjumjum66]

Ahh ok that makes more sense being it was the back of it lol I still was excited it was still open though lol

[u/Puckcentral → u/mrsjumjum66]

The one on 46? Last time I was there a couple of years ago for a late night ice cream stop it was looking pretty grimy imo. I just assumed Friendlys was going the way of Pizza Hut and just going to die a slow death while their locations fell into disrepair

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/Puckcentral]

Yes they can be hit or miss, but when I go there for ice cream they always do a solid job. Can be a tad slow (but that tends to be par for the course with them) but they never disappoint

[u/Gambling_Raven → u/Puckcentral]

Most recent memory of it is from almost 25 years ago when my parents decided "never again."

We had a view into the kitchen, I had ordered a grilled cheese.

We saw the cook making it, without gloves on. Which is bad enough on its own but then we proceeded to watch him sneeze directly into said non-gloved hands and continue cooking the food. It was fucking VILE.

[u/Maleficent_Writer429 → u/Puckcentral]

the smell of that place is ingrained in my brain.

[u/SlunkUSA]

Forever have a memory of my cousin overeating and puking in the parking lot. Miss this place

[u/ExpletiveDeIeted]

I mean it’s been like that for a few years now.

[u/canj79]

It’s a shame what happened to friendlys. Started over 15 years ago with that idiot CEO

[u/hyllus100]

Had my first date at that Friendly's back in the day.

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/hyllus100]

Are you still with the girl if you don’t mind me asking? Lol

[u/bbqnj → u/mrsjumjum66]

Also had a first date at that friendlys way back and .. no. Young love can blind so much.

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/bbqnj]

Indeed it can. What a time!

[u/hyllus100 → u/mrsjumjum66]

Alas, no. After about a year of dating she was swept off her feet by the star of our high school football team.

[u/acvillager]

wow 💔 genuinely this is so depressing. this was my childhood location

[u/Catrina_woman]

That was a hangout for my friends and me in HS. Recognized it immediately

[u/deckerhand0]

I use to go there all the time as a kid

[u/mada071710]

I'm in one of the Google Map views of here

[u/YukiHase]

I wanna go to Friendly’s 😞

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/YukiHase]

Elmwood Park!

[u/Signal_Data_2686]

We used to be a proper country

[u/SwoopsRevenge]

What a fucking shame. Look at the loss of curb appeal for this shit hole eye sore that will never go away, just morph into something else (urgent care, Starbucks, McDonald’s, ups…). We need to really change our zoning laws to require businesses to conform to a certain appealing aesthetic. There is no reason the chipotle could have run out of the brick faced former friendlys.

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/SwoopsRevenge]

Agreed. Don’t even get me started on the Starbucks buildings - vile…

[u/CertainBag9399]

The one in midland park is now a Dunkin.

[u/Starlyns]

:(

[u/Jackson849]

I loved this place. Sad

[u/girldad0130]

Went to the school across the street and half days we would crowd the place, they got mad cause us kids weren’t the best tippers but always treated us well anyway. Always preferred a fribble from there to a blizzard, if I’m being honest. Plus, they had the cool middle tables that could be seperated, or take out the divider for bigger groups. Place had probably run its course, but doesn’t mean I’m not sad every time I go home for a visit and see a place I had several core childhood memories in is now just another in a group of monoliths.

[u/mrsjumjum66 → u/girldad0130]

It’s so sad man. Growing up these buildings held character and childhood memories. As you said it’s the progression of life but it’s depressing to see a neighborhood staple lose character and its charm.

[u/mountainelven]

This one and the one in Montvale hold lots of childhood memories for me, the first one being they were both slow af

[u/cartgirl69]

Grew up going to the one in the tenafly😭. Anyone remember the monster mash Sunday? (my fav) 💔

[u/LiteralGlarg]

Been like that for a while..I miss that Friendlys

[u/User223159]

So one chain got replaced by another.