Riverhead Friendly’s restaurant will likely close when the restaurant’s lease expires at the end of 2025, a spokesman for the restaurant chain said.

In a statement emailed to RiverheadLOCAL last week, a spokesperson for the public relations agency that represents Friendly’s franchises said it is not the “desire to close the location” and that the franchise is “actively seeking development opportunities for additional locations throughout Riverhead and the greater Long Island area.”

The owner of the Route 58 building where Friendly’s has been located for nearly 40 years is currently applying for approval to renovate the building to create two separate restaurants.

MORE COVERAGE: The Riverhead Friendly building will be divided into two restaurant areas

Bell Boulevard Realty, owner of the property, has filed a building application with the Riverhead Planning Board detailing plans to renovate the existing 4,268-square-foot building and divide it into two separate restaurants. The east side of the building, according to the application, will be converted into a QDOBA, a nationwide Mexican restaurant chain with 38 indoor seats, eight outdoor seats and a drive-thru. The west side of the building will be converted into an as-yet-unnamed restaurant with 50 indoor seats.

The Riverhead Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the development plan next Thursday (September 5) at 6 p.m.

Riverhead Friendly’s is operated by J&B Restaurant Partners, the franchisee that operates Friendly’s restaurants throughout Long Island.

According to Newsday, more than half a dozen Friendly’s restaurants have closed on Long Island in the past five years, most recently in Ronkonkoma. There are still 10 Friendly’s restaurants on Long Island, including the one in Riverhead.

The first Friendly’s ice cream parlor was founded by the Blake Brothers in 1935. According to data firm ScrapeHero, there are 104 Friendly’s locations in the United States, most of them in the Northeast.

“Friendly’s continues to serve the Riverhead community and will remain a favorite place for families, children and friends to make wonderful memories for the remainder of our lease,” the Friendly’s spokesperson said.

With Alek Lewis