Local Friendly’s Employees Named Winners of the Company’s 2012 Scooper Bowl

Wilbraham, MA (Grassroots Newswire) May 21, 2012 – A team of two Tom’s River-area residents earned first place honors in Friendly’s 2012 Scooper Bowl company-wide competition. Melissa Wernoch of Manchester, NJ, and Cody Samuolis of Toms River, NJ out-scooped ten other teams at the Scooper Bowl finals held May 17 at the company’s headquarters in Wilbraham, MA, to take home a prize of $5,000 each. Both of the winners are servers at the Friendly’s restaurant on Route 37 in Tom’s River owned by J&B Restaurant Partners of New Jersey.

“Everyone who knows and works with Melissa and Cody knows that they are dedicated to providing great ice cream treats to all of the guests who visit the restaurant,” said Ken Jacobus, District Manager for Friendly’s on Route 37 in Tom’s River. “This competition was designed to identify the best of the best in our restaurants, and we’re proud to have this year’s winners working in our restaurant.”

Melissa Wernoch, 23, has been working at Friendly’s of Tom’s River for over five years, joining the local restaurant’s staff as a fountain employee and then working as a server. “Winning this competition is incredible,” said Wernoch. “I try to give 110% to my job every day. The competition was tough, but I had a great teammate and I’m really proud of this accomplishment.”

Cody Samuolis, 24, has been on the restaurant’s staff for eight years, starting out on fountain and then moving to the position of server. “Melissa and I work really well together,” said Samuolis. “The competition tested how well we could produce great ice cream products. In our jobs, we always need to turn out ice cream creations that are delicious and look great.”

The Scooper Bowl Competition starts at each of the 374 restaurants. The General Managers at each of the local restaurants choose a winning team to compete in the District competition. From the District Competition, the winning teams move on to a Regional competition and then to the finals at Friendly’s Support Center in Wilbraham, MA.

Each team was asked to prepare eight items – from a single dip ice cream cone to Chocolate Fribble^® to a Reese’s^® Pieces^® Sundae. Each team was judged on eye appeal, recipe, speed and personal appearance. The teams did not know what they were going to prepare until it was their time to compete.

About Friendly’s Ice Cream LLC
Friendly’s Ice Cream LLC is a new, vertically integrated restaurant company, with a legendary brand name, serving signature sandwiches, entrees and ice cream desserts in a friendly, family environment. Together with its broad franchisee base, the company has system-wide sales of over $550 million and distribution through over 7,500 retail locations. For over 76 years, Friendly’s restaurants and dedicated service teams have delighted generations of guests. For the future, Friendly’s has plans for new food and ice cream products, enhanced buildings, and new service channels.