The Fribbles are coming, the Fribbles are coming: Dallas-based Brix Holdings, a franchising company whose portfolio includes brands such as Smoothie Factory and Souper Salad, has been acquired by Legacy Brands International, an investment group managed by Amol Kohli, a franchisee of Friendly's Restaurants.

The acquisition includes the purchase of Brix properties such as Friendly's, Clean Juice, Orange Leaf, Red Mango, Smoothie Factory + Kitchen, Souper Salad, and Humble Donut Co.

The acquisition comes at a promising time for Brix, which has opened several new locations so far in 2025, with more under construction and in development to open by the end of the year.

The most exciting fringe benefit is that the acquisition means that the Northeast-revered Friendly's chain will be coming to Texas. According to a release, there will be a focus on Friendly's immediate expansion into new markets including Texas, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

Friendly's was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1935 by brothers S. Prestley Blake and Curtis Blake, who opened an ice cream shop named "Friendly", selling cones for 5 cents. It grew into a chain with diner-style cuisine like patty melts and milkshakes at affordable prices; most locations offer an ice-cream only take-out window, harking back to its ice cream stand roots. The majority of its locations are in the Northeast, with a few in the Southeast including Florida, where lots of ex-Northeasterners live.

Their menu features New England classics like fish & chips and fried clams, and they're famous for their their "Fribbles" — their "famous awful good, awful thick milkshakes."

Brix will remain headquartered in Dallas and continue to be led by Sherif Mityas as CEO and the current leadership team. Kohli will continue to manage his Friendly's franchises but also oversee Brix as Chairman of the Board with the support of the Legacy Brands International board members.

John Antioco, Managing Member of JAMCO Interests, the majority board member, calls Amol "the ideal candidate for ownership of Brix Holdings," citing his history of success and dedication to Friendly's, as well as his broad experience in the restaurant industry and understanding of multi-brand franchising.

Kohli, who began his franchise journey with Friendly's in 2009, owns and manages more than 30 Friendly's Restaurants across the East Coast, including some of the top-performing locations in the system. He'll use his knowledge to target development for all Brix brands across the country.

"Friendly's has been a part of my life since I was 15," Kohli says in a statement. "I started as a breakfast table waiter, which evolved into owning, managing, developing, and overseeing several locations over the last 16 years. I plan to take that to the next level in this new chapter of Brix Holdings' ownership to grow the size, scale and infrastructure for all our franchise networks and systems."

Is this a good time to say that Friendly's has also been a part of my life since I was 15, and that I waited tables at the location at 16 N. Main St. in Andover, Massachusetts, which tragically closed on Christmas Eve 2005. I would make Fribbles and sundaes such as the Swiss chocolate almond sundae which had vanilla, chocolate, and coffee ice cream with their Swiss chocolate sauce — like a combination of chocolate and marshmallow sauce — and chopped almonds that were salted, which was a rarity back in 1970.

In an email, Mityas calls the acquisition "great news for our company and our brands!"

"We will use this new investment to continue the growth of our portfolio of brands — both location growth for our existing brands and to continue to add new acquisitions like we did with Clean Juice last summer," Mityas says. "We are definitely focused on bringing Friendly’s to the south and specifically Texas. We have teams working with potential franchisees to identify sites around DFW and hope to have a new location here later next year."

"We have a lot of 'Friendly’s fans' down here given all the movement to Texas from other states and look forward to bringing them the opportunity to relive some great memories once we open," he says.