S04.E01: Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurants

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The fourth season begins with the revival of a well-known restaurant chain that didn't turn out like two business partners planned.

[ethalfrida]

Farrell's was the bomb!!! 

[KHenry14]

Finishing a Farrell's "Pig Trough" was one of my finest accomplishments as a kid. I hope Marcus can help them succeed

[ethalfrida]

2 hours ago, KHenry14 said:

Finishing a Farrell's "Pig Trough" was one of my finest accomplishments as a kid. I hope Marcus can help them succeed

Incredible!!!

[guilfoyleatpp]

Thrifty's ice cream was good, especially at 35 cents a scoop.

I'm not sure how I'd feel about going into Farrell's, which was a childhood spot for me as well, and paying $3+ for a Thrifty's ice cream.

[Primetimer]

The fourth season kicks off at a struggling old-tyme ice-cream parlor -- but can Marcus Lemonis make a sweet enough deal?

View the full article

[Showthyme]

Yes. Thrifty's ice cream. Occasionally, I could talk my mother into 3 scoops. 

I went to Farrell's as a teenager. The place was empty then too.

Surprised that Sweet Pea and Green Tea Ice Cream was not brought in to consult. 

I liked the birthday drum. Not the horn though.

[Gregg247]

I've never heard of Farrell's, but the story of the the chain was interesting.  I'm glad they brought it back, but I agree with Marcus that the singing thing was really irritating.  

As mentioned above, how could Marcus, in the name of corporate synergy, take the gang to Universal Studios for a field trip (also owned by the company that owns CNBC), but not bring in Sweet Pete's and Mr. Green Tea for all their candy and ice cream needs?  Marcus must be rusty from his summer off the air!

[ethalfrida]

They should have reopened the one in Cerritos before going way out to the other cities. The Cerritos store was in the mall and was always busy and happy. How much of the owner incompetence and disagreement do you think was producer driven?

[KHenry14]

Marcus is correct, this particular brand is worth investing in. But these buffoons need a lot of help. I mean, Thrifty Ice Cream?? It's decent cheap ice cream, but I don't go to an "Ice Cream Parlor" for cheap ice cream. And why bother with a candy store if you carry stuff you can buy anywhere??  

My memory as a kid was the birthday celebrations were quite loud. But times change, and I can see how annoying it would be now. 

If they follow the plan, I can see this working out.   Oh, and I was astounded we didn't see Mr. Green Tea, or finding out that they were going to carry Sweet Pete's candy. 

[pbutler111]

I didn't quite understand the math that went on to justify the much higher cost of making the ice cream at the new place. If you find out that you've been shorting yourself by giving customers too much product for the buck because you've been serving it at the wrong temperature, then why wouldn't you just continue on with the cheaper ice cream maker and start serving it at the correct temperature, those saving for yourself approximately a shitload of money? Why would you instead go with someone who's charging you so much more, just because they gave you that helpful tip about temperature and volume, thus losing a lot of money you could have saved if using a cheaper manufacturer? I don't get that at all.

[pbutler111]

I've never heard of Farrell's, but the story of the the chain was interesting.  I'm glad they brought it back, but I agree with Marcus that the singing thing was really irritating.  

As mentioned above, how could Marcus, in the name of corporate synergy, take the gang to Universal Studios for a field trip (also owned by the company that owns CNBC), but not bring in Sweet Pete's and Mr. Green Tea for all their candy and ice cream needs?  Marcus must be rusty from his summer off the air!

I wondered about that! Usually he really likes to get his other businesses involved if he can.

[Amarsir]

1 hour ago, ethalfrida said:

 How much of the owner incompetence and disagreement do you think was producer driven?

Marcus: "Whose responsibility is the food costs?"
Mike: "Paul would be in charge of that."
Talking Head Marcus: "I can't believe he was so anxious to blame someone."

I don't think the net effect of Marcus's feedback is wrong. CEO Mike should take more responsibility on himself. But sometimes it is stirred up a little.

24 minutes ago, KHenry14 said:

If they follow the plan, I can see this working out.   Oh, and I was astounded we didn't see Mr. Green Tea, or finding out that they were going to carry Sweet Pete's candy. 

Wrong side of the country for Mr. Green Tea, but I'm also surprised about Sweet Pete's. I bet a followup will introduce that.

17 minutes ago, pbutler111 said:

I didn't quite understand the math that went on to justify the much higher cost of making the ice cream at the new place. If you find out that you've been shorting yourself by giving customers too much product for the buck because you've been serving it at the wrong temperature, then why wouldn't you just continue on with the cheaper ice cream maker and start serving it at the correct temperature, those saving for yourself approximately a shitload of money? Why would you instead go with someone who's charging you so much more, just because they gave you that helpful tip about temperature and volume, thus losing a lot of money you could have saved if using a cheaper manufacturer? I don't get that at all.

$5 wholesale for a half-gallon was surprisingly high for me. (Of course so was $3 for Thrifty's.)  Sometimes food cost is the most important thing to Marcus, and then there are times like now he'll increase it for something unique. I get that there's virtue in both points of view, but it would be nice to see how he makes that determination.

[ethalfrida]

1 hour ago, KHenry14 said:

Marcus is correct, this particular brand is worth investing in. But these buffoons need a lot of help. I mean, Thrifty Ice Cream?? It's decent cheap ice cream, but I don't go to an "Ice Cream Parlor" for cheap ice cream. And why bother with a candy store if you carry stuff you can buy anywhere??  

My memory as a kid was the birthday celebrations were quite loud. But times change, and I can see how annoying it would be now. 

If they follow the plan, I can see this working out.   Oh, and I was astounded we didn't see Mr. Green Tea, or finding out that they were going to carry Sweet Pete's candy. 

When I was able to eat ice cream I didn't mind Thrifty's especially their pumpkin. But at Farrell's there was totally different quality that deserved the higher priced items. Then when I found out Baskins Robbins was selling their ice cream at high prices but using poor ingredients I was too finished with them all after Farrells' left.

Edited August 24, 2016 by ethalfrida

[Omega Mu]

We were just invited to a birthday party at Farrell's next week! My husband and I both commented that we hadn't been to Farrell's since high school (late 70's). Back then that was place you went after every game, concert, play, etc., at least for nerd kids like us.

[PBSLover]

Glad Sweet Petes was not introduced into this scenario. Has anyone ever tried their candy? Not so good. Marcus has done a brilliant job of marketing a so-so product.

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, PBSLover said:

Glad Sweet Petes was not introduced into this scenario. Has anyone ever tried their candy? Not so good. Marcus has done a brilliant job of marketing a so-so product.

I enjoyed most of the things I've tried from Sweet Pete's, particularly the chocolate stuff. Can't vouch for the hard candies, though!

[toodles]

Farrells was a big deal when I was a kid.  I really wanted a birthday party there, but my parents couldn't afford it.  We went there once in awhile as extra, extra special treat.  

I was totally shocked that they would serve Thrifty ice cream.  I'm not picky about ice cream generally, but if I'm going to an ice cream parlor and paying good money for the cream, then I expect good ice cream.  I used to get Thrifty cones for a dime a scoop.

I'm so glad Marcus is back.  I expected Sweet Pete and Green Tea to pop up too.

[thetif]

  3 hours ago, PBSLover said:

Glad Sweet Petes was not introduced into this scenario. Has anyone ever tried their candy? Not so good. Marcus has done a brilliant job of marketing a so-so product.

I enjoyed most of the things I've tried from Sweet Pete's, particularly the chocolate stuff. Can't vouch for the hard candies, though!

I'm pretty sure all those pretty Farrel's branded candies and baskets were just rebranded from Sweet Pete's. They looked the same as the boxes Pete's uses and I can't imagine Lemonis passing up some cross-branding synergy.

[Josiah Bounderby]

I remember thinking that Farrell's seemed hopelessly outdated -- back in the 70's.

Old Tyme Ice Cream Parlour is so tired...Main Street USA, right? that 1960's Disney corpse-fucking created after Walt conjured up the hazy memories of his Gilded Age childhood. And I love Disney. And I know, millions of people go to Main Street USA every year and have a Grande Olde Tyme, but that's because it is Disney. And at Disney the theme-ing is perfection.

No matter how much money gets sunk into Farrell's 2016, it is still going to be a chintzy mall ice cream shop.

And in the 21st century, do you really want a huge, goopy, super-sweet sundae where the syrup and nuts and whatnot cover up how mediocre the ice cream is? Or would you rather have one of your three favorite Ben and Jerry's flavors? Maybe I'm just not tasting the world like an 8 year old would...

Edited August 25, 2016 by Josiah Bounderby

[Whimsy]

Huh.  Never heard of Farrell's.  They had over 100 stores but all on the West Coast?  (that's where they were, right?  I don't remember exactly where they said they were).  That seems like a lot of stores concentrated in one geographical area.  Also, one of the guys started crying about closing a store and said that [found of Farrell's, I am guessing?] never closed a store.  Well, they all closed somehow.  Was it after his death then?

Anyway, I wasn't super impressed with the place.  I would probably never go.  But, I also never really went to Friendly's (the East Coast version of Farrell's, I'm guessing- which have mostly all closed down) except to the ice cream window.  Their food was terrible.  At least Friendly's still has ice cream in grocery stores to stock up on.

@Josiah Bounderby- I love Ben & Jerry's!  They're just so expensive!  Luckily they are sometimes 2/$5 (normally around $4.49 a piece).  When that happens we STOCK UP!!

[attica]

59 minutes ago, GenL said:

Well, they all closed somehow.  Was it after his death then?

Marcus told us in the opener that when founder Bob Farrell retired, the business was sold to an investor group, who... ran it into the ground. Bob was still around when Mike & Co opened the reboot, to bestow warm fuzzies.

I would have enjoyed a bit of footage showing kids spilling loose candy all over the new floor, and watching Sandy's head explode. But I'm not a very nice person.

[Whimsy]

16 minutes ago, attica said:

Marcus told us in the opener that when founder Bob Farrell retired, the business was sold to an investor group, who... ran it into the ground. Bob was still around when Mike & Co opened the reboot, to bestow warm fuzzies.

Thanks.  I was a bit distracted.  I did hear the part about the warm fuzzies from Bob.

 

16 minutes ago, attica said:

I would have enjoyed a bit of footage showing kids spilling loose candy all over the new floor, and watching Sandy's head explode. But I'm not a very nice person.

Hahahaha.  Me too!!  What was her insistence on this??  There are TONS of candy stores that let customers fill their own containers.  If it was so problematic, those stores would not exist!  She was just lazy.

[ae2]

There was some strange, poorly done editing when they were talking with the ice cream manufacturer about price. At first I thought my on-demand glitched, but after rewinding it doesn't seem so. They cut out a section of the video to make the wholesaler sound like he said it was $30 for the tub of ice cream. Then when Marcus replied to him he said that they were paying $17.50 right now - except the $17.50 was done in a dubbed voice over worthy of a SunSetter awnings commercial.

I guess either Marcus or the wholesaler had the numbers wrong and they wanted to fix it without any drama. But I wonder if Marcus left there thinking that they would actually be saving money with the new supplier. 

Also, one of the commercials was for the Profit "premiere episode" next week. Not sure what that was about.

Some of the drama did feel producer fed, but I try to give this show a little more benefit of a doubt than most other reality type shows (ahem, Gordon Ramsay). The CEO genuinely seemed lost and not in control. The other guy (Paul) didn't seem much better. Giving more control to Kevin and the marketing manager, who seemed to know what they were doing, was a good decision.

Does the expanded candy area really have better returns than an additional 20 seats? Cracker Barrel always has a huge candy and gift area, so I guess there must be some truth to it. All of the malls in this area have at least 1 candy store that sells create-your-own candy bags for something like $4 / quarter pound. And any time I travel somewhere remotely touristy there are always candy stores. Heck, Virginia Beach seems to have one every block on its main strip. So it didn't seem that unique to me; although maybe they're less common on the west coast.

[NewDigs]

5 hours ago, GenL said:

Huh.  Never heard of Farrell's.  They had over 100 stores but all on the West Coast?  (that's where they were, right?  I don't remember exactly where they said they were).  That seems like a lot of stores concentrated in one geographical area.  Also, one of the guys started crying about closing a store and said that [found of Farrell's, I am guessing?] never closed a store.  Well, they all closed somehow.  Was it after his death then?

Anyway, I wasn't super impressed with the place.  I would probably never go.  But, I also never really went to Friendly's (the East Coast version of Farrell's, I'm guessing- which have mostly all closed down) except to the ice cream window.  Their food was terrible.  At least Friendly's still has ice cream in grocery stores to stock up on.

@Josiah Bounderby- I love Ben & Jerry's!  They're just so expensive!  Luckily they are sometimes 2/$5 (normally around $4.49 a piece).  When that happens we STOCK UP!!

They were all over the place. I remember my sis and bil taking me to one in MN for a, imho, horribly embarrassing teenage birthday "treat". I had no idea about the singing and swore payback. Late 60s maybe? (ouch)

I tried to steer way clear of the one in a St. Pete, FL mall but an (ex)boyfriend enjoyed their treats. That was in the 70s.

I remember them mainly being in strip malls and enclosed malls and couldn't imagine them filling those stand-alone locations.  I figured they had all closed (had forgotten they ever existed!) so was surprised to see Marcus-in-charge. There were some people in serious denial.

Below is their 100 locations map. They started in Oregon. 

 

[attica]

1 hour ago, ae2 said:

Also, one of the commercials was for the Profit "premiere episode" next week. Not sure what that was about.

CNBC does this all the time: they refer to every first-run episode as 'premiere.' I guess to distinguish them from the forty-seven thousand re-airs of old Shark Tanks? Dunno. I agree it's imprecise. 

[Whimsy]

14 minutes ago, NewDigs said:

They were all over the place. I remember my sis and bil taking me to one in MN

I grew up in MN in the '70's-'90's.  Never heard of it still.  Weird.  I guess it just wasn't a thing for my family.  When did they shut down?  I am sure they said that too.  I think I missed the beginning exposition. 

[Amarsir]

Thanks for the map, NewDigs. I've been trying to remember if I've been to one in NJ or if that was a different deluxe ice cream parlor. I would have been pretty young, which seems to match their timeline.  My mother might know.

5 hours ago, GenL said:

Anyway, I wasn't super impressed with the place.  I would probably never go.  But, I also never really went to Friendly's (the East Coast version of Farrell's, I'm guessing- which have mostly all closed down) except to the ice cream window.  Their food was terrible.  At least Friendly's still has ice cream in grocery stores to stock up on.

Friendly's I know. I hadn't realized they hit on harder times but now that you mention it, most I knew are now closed. (There's still one open pretty close to me, but not having kids I won't be headed there soon.

My impression from this show though is that Farrell's is more of a destination whereas Friendly's always seemed like more of a kid-friendly restaurant.

[ClareWalks]

Yeah, I never heard of 'em either, even though I grew up in Milwaukee and apparently there was one there. I would have been just the right age, too. On our birthdays Mom would buy us grasshopper pie at Baskin Robbins, so maybe they were just brand-loyal.

[attica]

2 hours ago, Amarsir said:

There's still one open pretty close to me, but not having kids I won't be headed there soon.

I tell ya, sometimes nothing will do but a Fishamajig(TM) and a chocolate Fribble(TM). Other people's kids be damned.

Where I grew up, we had Jahn's. Same old-tymey stuff, same ginormous sundaes. There were only a handful of them ever, and only one is still operating. So after school concerts and stuff, we either went to Jahn's or Howard Johnson. 

[Amarsir]

1 hour ago, attica said:

I tell ya, sometimes nothing will do but a Fishamajig(TM) and a chocolate Fribble(TM). Other people's kids be damned.

Where I grew up, we had Jahn's. Same old-tymey stuff, same ginormous sundaes. There were only a handful of them ever, and only one is still operating. So after school concerts and stuff, we either went to Jahn's or Howard Johnson. 

Conehead Sundae(TM) all the way. :)

Jahn's! That's who I was thinking of. As soon as Wikipedia mentioned the "Kitchen Sink" it all came back to me.

[seacliffsal]

I never really went to Farrells as we had Fenton's in Oakland, CA, but was happy to see the brand come back as it does connect to memories of yesterday.  Just a sec...get off my lawn you kids...anyway, where was I?  Oh yes-I think it's very family friendly and now that they are using the original recipe for the ice cream and cut down the menu, the food and dessert quality may improve.  The birthday song they had on the episode really was too much.  I don't really care for the new version either, but then I don't like all of those distractions even though I know that younger kids would like it.

[Amarsir]

5 hours ago, ae2 said:

There was some strange, poorly done editing when they were talking with the ice cream manufacturer about price. At first I thought my on-demand glitched, but after rewinding it doesn't seem so. They cut out a section of the video to make the wholesaler sound like he said it was $30 for the tub of ice cream. Then when Marcus replied to him he said that they were paying $17.50 right now - except the $17.50 was done in a dubbed voice over worthy of a SunSetter awnings commercial.

I guess either Marcus or the wholesaler had the numbers wrong and they wanted to fix it without any drama. But I wonder if Marcus left there thinking that they would actually be saving money with the new supplier. 

After rewatching, the weird cuts happened every time they said "3 gallon tub". Not just the wholesaler saying it, but the conversation outside too. I suspect the conversation was more complex about different sizes and they chopped it up to simplify.

They do a lot of cuts, though. When Mike said "I trusted but I didn't verify" there was a cut such that I'm not even sure he was talking about Paul at the time, despite that being the implication. We generally have to trust that the story being told is accurate, but there's definitely enough room in the footage to adjust a narrative if they want.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

I got to watch it, and I am assuming that Thrifty's was a LOT cheaper than getting it from the other store was because they were just buying Thrifty's ice cream that they normally make.  However, the plan was to bring back the Farrell's recipe, which would require whoever makes it, a special batch for Farrell's.  I agree however that there is a lot of fuzzy math regarding the cost comparison per scoop, unless the Thrifty's ice cream, with lower fat milk content or whatever, actually needs to be held at a higher temperature or it will be too hard to scoop.  To me, that kind of makes sense.  If you have lot of milk fat, it would keep the product softer and more malleable even at lower temperatures IMO.

[BusyOctober]

I don't understand why these small business owners always want to expand.  What is wrong with being a big fish in a small pond? Bigger is not always better.  If this restaurant had been rebooted successfully in ONE location, then maybe open a second shop (or is that shoppe?).  Opening more spots increases overhead and can often diminish quality if not managed correctly. Most of these chuckleheads on The Profit or Shark Tank do not have great management skills.  So thanks to their large egos and attempts to be the next big national chain, they lose money quicker than ice cream melts on a 90 degree day.  

Sandy was a real piece of work.  I agree she didn't have the right temperament to be the Candy Lady...no sense of fun or joy or warmth. And no tolerance for other opinions.  I don't think she has the right temperament to be in HR either!  I can't imagine being an employee with a problem and having to go see Sandy McGrumperson about it.

"Sandy, I am uncomfortable with how my co-worker makes ethnic jokes in the break room." 

"You think that's a problem? I have to find someone to pick up spilled jelly beans off the damn floor everyday!"

[KHenry14]

In Sandy's defense, she's an HR person put into the Candy job, something clearly she wasn't suited to manage. 

[ae2]

22 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

I don't understand why these small business owners always want to expand.  What is wrong with being a big fish in a small pond? Bigger is not always better.  If this restaurant had been rebooted successfully in ONE location, then maybe open a second shop (or is that shoppe?).  Opening more spots increases overhead and can often diminish quality if not managed correctly. Most of these chuckleheads on The Profit or Shark Tank do not have great management skills.  So thanks to their large egos and attempts to be the next big national chain, they lose money quicker than ice cream melts on a 90 degree day.  

There's of course a selection bias with this show. There are thousands (millions?) of small businesses across the country that are content turning a steady profit and remaining where they are, but Marcus isn't interested in these. He wants to invest in growing, ever expanding businesses that have the potential to be a national chain and make him millions of dollars.

Why do businesses like Farrell's expand quickly to five or six locations where only 1 or 2 are making a profit? I think most of the cases I've seen on this show come down to expanding too quickly. The first one or two locations do well so they quickly open up a few more, maybe without doing enough due diligence on the location, or they open them too close together and compete with themselves. There is also a period of time after opening a new store front where you see an exceptionally high volume of business before it tapers down to its normal level. Considering Farrell's was a childhood favorite of many people in southern California, I'm sure every restaurant had a huge initial surge of traffic until the novelty wore off.

So it's easy to be deceived into thinking a new restaurant is a huge success until reality kicks in. I recently saw this happen with a national fast food chain that finally opened a restaurant in our area after years of rumors and locals petitioning them. For the first month of it being open there were lines from morning till night. Police had to direct traffic constantly. About a year later and the restaurant had to cut back its hours operating hours and isn't even open for the morning breakfast/coffee rush.

Also - I don't think we learned about how the other restaurants were structured. Were they franchisees? Or were they directly owned by Mike & Paul? 

[PBSLover]

On August 28, 2016 at 7:15 PM, KHenry14 said:

In Sandy's defense, she's an HR person put into the Candy job, something clearly she wasn't suited to manage. 

When Marcus told her he was relieving her of her candy duties, she said that was what her background was, so...

[beesknees]

On 8/25/2016 at 1:33 PM, ClareWalks said:

Yeah, I never heard of 'em either, even though I grew up in Milwaukee and apparently there was one there. I would have been just the right age, too. On our birthdays Mom would buy us grasshopper pie at Baskin Robbins, so maybe they were just brand-loyal.

Farrell's was inside Northridge Mall (76th and Brown Deer Rd) during the 1970's.  RIP  Northridge Mall and Farrell's.

[Amarsir]

On 8/29/2016 at 8:25 AM, ae2 said:

Why do businesses like Farrell's expand quickly to five or six locations where only 1 or 2 are making a profit? I think most of the cases I've seen on this show come down to expanding too quickly. The first one or two locations do well so they quickly open up a few more, maybe without doing enough due diligence on the location, or they open them too close together and compete with themselves. There is also a period of time after opening a new store front where you see an exceptionally high volume of business before it tapers down to its normal level. Considering Farrell's was a childhood favorite of many people in southern California, I'm sure every restaurant had a huge initial surge of traffic until the novelty wore off.

So it's easy to be deceived into thinking a new restaurant is a huge success until reality kicks in. I recently saw this happen with a national fast food chain that finally opened a restaurant in our area after years of rumors and locals petitioning them. For the first month of it being open there were lines from morning till night. Police had to direct traffic constantly. About a year later and the restaurant had to cut back its hours operating hours and isn't even open for the morning breakfast/coffee rush.

Good point, though we also see it happen in stuff like Tonnie's Minis. I think a lot of people have heard of Economy of Scale without really understanding it, so they figure they can expand their way into profits. 

Your anecdote reminds me of something similar which I was already tempted to bring up due to the nostalgia conversation. People on the East Coast may remember Roy Rogers, and after the brand changed hands recently they just opened up a new one near me. It has been packed every day since it opened about 3 months ago. They sell fried chicken and roast beef, and while I believe they do it well Arby's shut down the only 2 restaurants anywhere near here in the last few years and fried chicken is everywhere. Credit to those owners and all because I think they're doing a good job, but there's no way that much traffic will last.

[mojito]

I can understand Sandy's reluctance about giving kids access to the candy dispensers. Those shoots can get out of hand if you're not prepared for the flood of product that can come down (imagine gumballs). 

Her protests about messy kids made me think of women on House Hunters who see big homes and immediately say, "Who's going to clean this?" Struck me that she was thinking like a mother more than a business woman.

When they were having that Teary Moment, I thought it was nice the way CEO Mike seemed genuinely happy (and maybe relieved) that Travis was getting more responsibility, and a piece of the pie.

[kacesq]

On 8/25/2016 at 2:32 PM, Amarsir said:

Thanks for the map, NewDigs. I've been trying to remember if I've been to one in NJ or if that was a different deluxe ice cream parlor. I would have been pretty young, which seems to match their timeline.  My mother might know.

Friendly's I know. I hadn't realized they hit on harder times but now that you mention it, most I knew are now closed. (There's still one open pretty close to me, but not having kids I won't be headed there soon.

My impression from this show though is that Farrell's is more of a destination whereas Friendly's always seemed like more of a kid-friendly restaurant.

If you lived near/went to Paramus Park Mall in the 1970s-early 1980s, the Farrell's was there, upstairs in the Food Court.  It later became the McDonald's and is now the Burger King.  We went there when I was a kid for birthday parties, and yes, those were loud, lol.

[NewDigs]

On August 25, 2016 at 2:31 PM, GenL said:

I grew up in MN in the '70's-'90's.  Never heard of it still.  Weird.  I guess it just wasn't a thing for my family.  When did they shut down?  I am sure they said that too.  I think I missed the beginning exposition

Maplewood 1146 Maplewood MallMaplewood, MN

Brookdale  Brooklyn BlvdMinneapolis, MN

Minnneapolis. 9930 Aldrich Ave S.Minneapolis, MN

Har-Mar. Snelling Ave & Country Rd BRoseville, MN

West St. Paul  1505 S. Robert StSt Paul, MN

I'm not sure when they closed down. I moved away from MN in the early 70s so I was "treated" to their b-day spectacle before then.
 

Wiki has a decent overview.

[attica]

On 8/31/2016 at 1:18 AM, Amarsir said:

It has been packed every day since it opened about 3 months ago. They sell fried chicken and roast beef,

I used to live near a now-gone Roy's. I liked them! I remember particularly liking the seasoning they used on the fries.

[Lola16]

On 8/25/2016 at 8:55 AM, GenL said:

Huh.  Never heard of Farrell's.  They had over 100 stores but all on the West Coast?  (that's where they were, right?  I don't remember exactly where they said they were).  That seems like a lot of stores concentrated in one geographical area.  Also, one of the guys started crying about closing a store and said that [found of Farrell's, I am guessing?] never closed a store.  Well, they all closed somehow.  Was it after his death then?

Anyway, I wasn't super impressed with the place.  I would probably never go.  But, I also never really went to Friendly's (the East Coast version of Farrell's, I'm guessing- which have mostly all closed down) except to the ice cream window.  Their food was terrible.  At least Friendly's still has ice cream in grocery stores to stock up on.

@Josiah Bounderby- I love Ben & Jerry's!  They're just so expensive!  Luckily they are sometimes 2/$5 (normally around $4.49 a piece).  When that happens we STOCK UP!!

Floved Friendly's as a kid. Who wouldn't want a Happy Ending after their meal?! It was a Sundae, people.  B&J's formula has changed with the new owners. Baskin Robbins also changed.  Afraid to go to Carvel and see if that also has lowered its quality.  Had Cold Stone the other day (it was an after movie treat), waited in line for an hour (no joke), and ice cream was so-so. But, had some Haagen-Dazs a couple weeks ago and that rocked. So there's hope for the kid in me still.

On 8/28/2016 at 9:26 AM, BusyOctober said:

 

Sandy was a real piece of work.  I agree she didn't have the right temperament to be the Candy Lady...no sense of fun or joy or warmth. And no tolerance for other opinions.  I don't think she has the right temperament to be in HR either!  I can't imagine being an employee with a problem and having to go see Sandy McGrumperson about it.

"Sandy, I am uncomfortable with how my co-worker makes ethnic jokes in the break room." 

"You think that's a problem? I have to find someone to pick up spilled jelly beans off the damn floor everyday!"

Ha! I think she's a perfect fit for HR with that attitude.  At least in the places I've worked, she'd have fit right in.

On 8/31/2016 at 1:18 AM, Amarsir said:

Your anecdote reminds me of something similar which I was already tempted to bring up due to the nostalgia conversation. People on the East Coast may remember Roy Rogers, and after the brand changed hands recently they just opened up a new one near me. It has been packed every day since it opened about 3 months ago. They sell fried chicken and roast beef, and while I believe they do it well Arby's shut down the only 2 restaurants anywhere near here in the last few years and fried chicken is everywhere. Credit to those owners and all because I think they're doing a good job, but there's no way that much traffic will last.

I only remember Roy's from interstate highway rest stops. Arby's is making a comeback on LI! A new franchisee opened up 2 on the south shore. There used to be on in NYC at the sketchy Manhattan Mall but when they finally renovated the mall, it was eliminated. My (now ex) bf and I would drive to Danbury CT or cross the Tappan Zee to get some at the Palisades Mall.  Then it was a trip out to Queens.  Now the closest one to me is 35 minutes away along the shore of CT.  Not to be too much of an Arby's nut but they had (may still do) a map on their website where you can plan your roadtrip out to Arby's.  I did that for a business trip and sent it in as a proposed itinerary.  Our version of Sandy was not amused

[Lola16]

On 8/25/2016 at 9:50 AM, attica said:

Marcus told us in the opener that when founder Bob Farrell retired, the business was sold to an investor group, who... ran it into the ground. Bob was still around when Mike & Co opened the reboot, to bestow warm fuzzies.

I would have enjoyed a bit of footage showing kids spilling loose candy all over the new floor, and watching Sandy's head explode. But I'm not a very nice person.

You and me both.  It looked like at the end, they didn't use the overhead dispensers, just the lucite square bins where you scoop the stuff out.  How hard would it be to put a trough under the overhead dispensers to catch any spills?

I wasn't a huge fan of marketing daughter.  But yea, she was better than HR Sandy.  Like the Hilton guy - he seems like he'll be a good asset.

[Kiss my mutt]

I thought when I saw them heading to universal studios Marcus was going to propose opening a Farrell's there. 

The HR lady wasn't qualified to run th candy department but she sure as heck acted like she was. 

[Jamoche]

HR lady and her insistence that she had to run the candy because it was her favorite, but it wasn't her fault it sucked because she didn't have time for it - if that's how she prioritizes her "favorite" part of her job, what does she do for the parts she doesn't like?

[Crs97]

I remember Farrell's in the mall outside Houston.  It was too expensive for our family, though, so it was a big deal to share an ice cream from there or be invited to a birthday party.  There is a Bob Newhart episode that I always thought spoofed Farrell's: "Single scooper, single scooper, this man is a party pooper."

[Amarsir]

The Shark Tank Podcast (Youtube link) did an interview with Travis with some interesting information.

• @ae2 is probably correct about why they expanded: they had lines out the door when they first re-opened. And Travis sees being on the show as good advertising because he thinks some people stopped coming since they feared lines.
• Sweet Pete's makes the Farrell's-labeled candy.
• Mike the boss was 100% open to how The Profit works. He told the employees "Just be honest and if the show makes me look like the bad guy that's OK." I found that a really nice contrast to so many of the other bosses we've seen.
• Shauna (the marketing daughter) really has stepped into the role and in doing so has even made his (Travis's) job easier.