The LuLac Edition #5, 773, September 20th 2026

 

 

BAD NEWS 

FRIENDLY'S UNDER 100  

A casual-dining chain known for its ice-cream desserts, burgers and family atmosphere that once operated roughly 850 restaurants has dwindled to fewer than 100 locations in 11 states.

Friendly's was founded as the "Friendly" ice-cream shop in Springfield, Massachusetts, by "spunky" brothers Prestley and Curtis Blake in 1935 — at the height of the Great Depression, according to the company's website.

The two young entrepreneurs — Prestley was 20 years old and Curtis was just 18 — sold double-dip cones for 5 cents.

In 1940, they expanded with a second location and began offering food, with hamburgers among the first additions to the menu.

By 1951, there were 10 Friendly restaurants operating in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and by 1974, that number had grown to 500 restaurants across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

 

 

GOOD NEWS

CARNEGIE DELI BACK

I write this as I prepare for a medical procedure that requires a 48 hour fast of solid foods.

Yeah, that’s the one.

When I used to go to the Carnegie Deli my mainstay was the Pastrami and corned beef on rye, heavy on the mustard with a raw onion. But just in case you were unaware the Carnegie Deli is  back.

Carnegie Deli’s back after a 10-year absence — and not a New York Minute too soon. 

Historic West Midtown without pastrami on rye was like a ballpark without hot dogs.  Starbucks and contemporary eateries like Locanda Verde and high-end chocolate shop Laderach have none of Carnegie Deli’s pickle-barrel aura.

I didn’t much care when the Carnegie shut down a decade ago. It was popular mainly with schmaltz-loving tourists who wouldn’t know pastrami from prosecco.

ut its surprise revival this month at 834 Seventh Ave. — once the site of its longtime rival the Stage Deli, which closed in 2012 — means a helluva lot more now. It puts a little bit of old-time magic back in fast-changing West Midtown, which needs all the retro vibe it can get

The reborn Carnegie Deli has better pastrami and chicken soup than its predecessor did. Service by friendly waitresses is a big improvement over the crusty “whaddya have” of yore.

It all happens amidst vintage, “Wall of Fame” photos of showbiz stars that recall the films and TV shows shot at the original Carnegie like “Broadway Danny Rose.” There’s thankfully no music of the cliched “New York, New York” school, but jazz standards like Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” and numerous Miles Davis classics.

They’re sweet notes for Seventh Avenue in the 50s that’s still recovering from COVID-19.  The former Wellington Hotel is being demolished for a fancy new inn. Restaurants such as Petrossian, Redeye Grill, Rosie O’Grady’s and Molyvos are gone.

The Carnegie revival — not to be confused with unrelated Midtown places called Carnegie Diner — could  have been a fake-nostalgia stinker. The original Carnegie Deli sign over the entrance and the wall photos  would mean zip if the food poorly channeled the past.