WILBRAHAM, Mass.—Friendly Ice Cream Corp. has appointed Ned Lidvall, a veteran restaurant company executive, as its new president and CEO.
Lidvall succeeds George Condos, who retired earlier this year from the Wilbraham, Mass.-based restaurant chain.
Since 1999, Lidvall has been president and CEO of Rock Bottom Restaurants, a Boulder, Colo.- based chain with more than 130 locations. He previously served as chief operating officer of On The Border Cafes and held senior positions with Chi-Chi’s and Western Sizzlin.
Friendly, a 73-year-old company, was acquired in August 2007 by an affiliate of the private investment firm Sun Capital Partners. It has more than 500 company-owned and franchised restaurants, most of them in the Northeast.
