Another bankrupt corporation is closing restaurants in our area.
Friendly's restaurants is closing in Luzerne County's Back Mountain and near Clarks Summit.
Customers in Lackawanna County said they are losing their Friendly's in an area that doesn't need another dying business.
"Closed" signs now hang in the doorway of the Friendly's restaurant on Northern Boulevard in South Abington Township. The shop shut down almost immediately after its parent corporation announced which stores it would close.
Tuesday's regular lunch crowd instead were served surprise, and disappointment.
"Last night we came for supper but they weren't here so we we're going to come by and read the signs, see what they say," said Larry Walker of Dalton.
Walker and his wife weren't the only ones to stop by Friendly's to see if the rumors were true. Employees there said they closed for good after the dinner rush Sunday night.
Some pulled up and were shocked to see it closed. Customer Veronica Walker said she saw no signs that the restaurant was struggling.
"I am so shocked, because we had no idea. And like, I am a regular, so if they had prepared me for it I think I would have been a little better. This is just horrible," Walker said.
The parent corporation filed for bankruptcy a few months ago and picked five restaurants in Pennsylvania to close, including the South Abington Township restaurant and one in Luzerne County.
The customers that have since come by say they wish their local restaurant wasn't one to close. Especially since, this empty restaurant will be added to a list of others on the stretch in South Abington Township.
"My motto is, support your town. When I don't feel like doing something, it is nice because we do have this nice stretch and it's a busy stretch. I can't believe. I just can't believe it," Walker added.
The signs at Friendly's point customers to another location in Lackawanna County. The restaurant in South Abington Township employed about 20 people.