A Cherry on Top for Local Friendly-s Ice Cream Team at Manchester, Connecticut

Manchester Friendly's employees win "Best of the Best" second place in company's annual Ice Cream World competition

Manchester, CT (Grassroots Newswire) (August 13, 2008) - The ice cream experts at Friendly´s have found the "Best of the Best" fountain workers and Pam Maragnano and Rachel Gratton from the Manchester restaurant were the second prize winners in the annual Ice Cream World competition.

Every year for the past seven years, Friendly's sets out to find the creme de la creme of their fountain workers: their very own ice cream experts. And on August 6, 2008, 14 teams of fountain workers from across the chain raised their ice cream scoopers in preparation for the title.

After competing at the restaurant and district levels, Maragnano and Gratton headed to Wilbraham, Mass. for the finals. The teams prepared the same eight creations and were judged on product accuracy, eye appeal and their own uniform appearance. Additionally, they had to create their own sundae/fountain beverage, which is judged on: the name, creativity, marketability and taste.

"The competition was so exciting. I was thrilled to be a representative for my Friendly's restaurant," said Maragnano. "There are few people that can say they are one of the best of the best and I'm glad I can! I can't wait to get back to my restaurant and make some more awesome desserts," said Gratton.

The judges for the event included: Andre Fuehr, VP, Research and Development; Kevin McNamara, VP, Operations Support Services; Lionel Bisson, quality assurance director; and Ron Mease, senior director operations services. Friendly's' President and CEO George Condos, SVP of Company Operations John Bowie, and VP of Franchising and Development Jim Sullivan were also on hand to watch the fun.

"We're very proud of both Pam and Rachel and are excited to have named them among the 'best of the best' fountain workers. At Friendly's, we're dedicated to making sure our customers thoroughly enjoy their experience: Pam and Rachel have proven that they are dedicated to making great ice cream creations for our guests," said John Bowie.

Friendly's has more than 500 company and franchised restaurants throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions. As the neighborhood, family restaurant, they offer a great kids menu, signature sandwiches, delicious entrees and indulgent ice cream desserts in a fun, family environment. The company also manufactures all of its own ice cream, which is distributed through more than 4,000 supermarkets and other retail locations.

For more information on the Friendly's Ice Cream World event, please contact Maura Tobias at (413) 731-4238.