Exhibit 99.1

                        Friendly's Restaurants Announce
      Appointment to Board; Mr. Perry D. Odak to Join Friendly's Board of
              Directors to Fill Vacancy Resulting from Resignation


    WILBRAHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2005--Friendly Ice
Cream Corporation (AMEX:FRN) announced the appointment of Perry D.
Odak to serve on the Company's Board of Directors effective March 1,
2005. Mr. Odak will fill the vacancy made available by the resignation
of Charles A. Ledsinger, whose resignation becomes effective March 1,
2005. Mr. Ledsinger is the Chief Executive Officer of Choice Hotels
International, Inc., an international hospitality chain.
    Mr. Odak is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: OATS), one of the nation's leading
chains of organic, specialty and natural food markets. In this
position since 2001, Odak was brought in to succeed the founders and
execute a turnaround of the company. Established in 1987, Wild Oats
now has annual revenues of nearly $1 billion with more than 106 stores
in the United States and Canada.
    Prior to joining Wild Oats Markets, Inc., Mr. Odak was recruited
to join Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. as its Chief Executive Officer
and President. Before joining Ben & Jerry's, Mr. Odak maintained 25
years of senior management experience in a variety of consumer product
and retailing businesses, including, Dial Corp., a Fortune 500
company, Jovan, Inc., an innovative fragrance and cosmetic company,
and Atari Inc., a leading distributor of video game software.
    Mr. Odak holds a B.S. in Applied Economics from Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York.
    Donald N. Smith, Friendly's Chairman of the Board of Directors
said, "I'd like to thank Chuck Ledsinger for the invaluable
contributions he's made to Friendly's. With the many demands for his
time, I sincerely appreciate all that he has done for Friendly's".
    Smith went on to say, "We are pleased to welcome Perry to
Friendly's Board of Directors. We believe his values, insight, and
tremendous ice cream industry experience will make him a superb asset
to our Company and a valuable addition to the Board."

    About Friendly's

    Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is a vertically integrated
restaurant company serving signature sandwiches, entrees and ice cream
desserts in a friendly, family environment in over 535 company and
franchised restaurants throughout the Northeast. The Company also
manufactures ice cream, which is distributed through more than 4,500
supermarkets and other retail locations. With a 69-year operating
history, Friendly's enjoys strong brand recognition and is currently
remodeling its restaurants and introducing new products to grow its
customer base. Additional information on Friendly Ice Cream
Corporation can be found on the Company's website (www.friendlys.com).

    CONTACT: Friendly's
             Maura C. Tobias, 413-543-2400 x 2814