New Year – New Friendly’s Menu: Under 555 Calorie Meals at $7.99 or Less Offer Consumers Better-for-you Dining Options and Value

WILBRAHAM, MASS.; January 5, 2011 – Friendly’s customers starting the new year with a resolution to choose better-for-you foods can turn to Friendly’s new menu, available from January 10 to February 27, 2011.
Featuring under 555 calorie meals for $7.99 or less, the menu includes diverse and delicious choices from a Caprisi grilled chicken sandwich with salad to entrée salads to stir frys.  The dessert option of a Strawberry Non-Fat Frozen Yogurt Sundae is a guilt-free end to any meal and only 250 calories.

“While we will always continue to offer the classic American foods and ice cream that are the cornerstone of our company, restaurants have a responsibility to offer customers choices that respond to their individual lifestyle needs and preferences,” said Friendly’s Chairman and CEO Harsha V. Agadi. “We know that customers order based on taste, and we have worked hard to ensure that this new menu is not only lower in calories but high in flavor.”
The menu includes:
Caprisi Chicken Sandwich & Salad: A grilled chicken breast marinated in Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette is served on grilled ciabatta bread with bruschetta-style tomatoes, served with a mixed greens side salad offered with Fat Free Italian dressing.

Mandarin Grilled Chicken Salad: Ginger-glazed grilled chicken is piled on top of crisp salad greens with mandarin oranges, sliced almonds and sesame seeds, served with Sweet Ginger Sesame dressing.

Grilled Chicken Caprisi Salad: Sliced grilled chicken breast and bruschetta-style tomatoes, green peppers and red onions are served on a bed of crisp salad greens, served with Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.

Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry: Sliced ginger-glazed chicken is sautéed with stir fry vegetables, red and green peppers, broccoli and red onions, served on a bed of rice pilaf with sesame seeds.

Vegetable Ginger Stir-Fry: Stir fry vegetables, portabello mushrooms, celery, red and green peppers, broccoli and red onions are sautéed in a ginger glaze and served on a bed of rice pilaf with sesame seeds.

Sweet & Spicy Grilled Shrimp: Grilled shrimp are sautéed in a zesty orange sauce with a stir fry vegetable blend with red and green peppers, broccoli and red onions, served over rice pilaf with sesame seeds.

Strawberry Non-Fat Vanilla Yogurt Two-scoop Sundae: Two scoops of creamy vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt are crowned with strawberry topping, whipped topping and a cherry.

“It was a lot of fun developing this menu,” said Friendly’s Executive Chef Andre Fuehr. “We tried to create something that satisfies a wide variety of food preferences and tastes, while being mindful of customers’ caloric intake.  I look forward to creating more of these healthy offerings in the future.”

About Friendly Ice Cream Corporation
Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is a vertically integrated restaurant company serving signature sandwiches, entrees and ice cream desserts in a friendly, family environment with system-wide sales of $700 million and distribution through more than 4,000 retail locations. With a 75-year operating history, Friendly’s enjoys strong brand recognition and is currently revitalizing its restaurants and introducing new products to grow its customer base. For additional information please visit www.friendlys.com.