Friendly's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. Friendly Ice Cream Corp. closed 63 of its 500 Friendly's family restaurants as the company seeks to reorganize its troubled business stung in part by the economy.

About 30 of the Friendly's stores closed are in Massachusetts. The company said about 1,200 jobs were eliminated from the closings.

The 76-year-old company, known for ice cream and hamburgers, joins a long list of family food chains that have filed for bankruptcy protection this year, including Perkins, Marie Callender's, and Chevy's Fresh Mex. Friendly's has sales of about $700 million, the company said in a statement regarding its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The company also said it has secured roughly $70 million in debtor-in-possession financing to keep 424 Friendly's restaurants open.

We have embarked on an aggressive campaign to enhance restaurant operations, improve the guest experience, strengthen our team, and expand the company's successful retail ice cream business, said Chairman and CEO Harsha V. Agadi, in a statement.

Based in Wilbraham, Mass., Friendly Ice Cream Corp. employes about 9,000 workers. The company said the slow-growth economy and higher costs pushed it into bankruptcy.

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