More New Yorkers are now being forced to say farewell to the Fribble.

Friendly's has announced that they will be closing 23 stores, with the majority of them located in New York. The closures are being blamed on a changing marketplace and competition from other restaurants.

Mass Live has cited the chief operating officer of Friendly's, Dennis Pfaff, as saying he expects even more restaurants to close as the leases for those buildings expire. Up until this most recent round of closings, Friendly's operated 200 locations throughout the country. Back in 1988, there were 850 Friendly's serving ice cream in 15 states.

Friendly's restaurants in Middletown, Fishkill and Kingston have been closed for some time, but now another location close to the Hudson Valley is shutting down. The Friendly's in Danbury, CT is among the 23 stores that were told they would be closing this week.

Other New York locations that will close include restaurants in Endicott, Binghamton, Amherst, Blasdell, Dewitt, Greece, Jamestown, Oneonta, Oswego, Rochester, Syracuse and Williamsville. You can read the full list of closures on Masslive.com.

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