Curtis Livingston Blake (April 15, 1917 – May 24, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Biography

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Herbert Prestley Blake and Ethel Stewart Blake, Curtis and his elder brother, Stewart Prestley Blake (known as "S. Prestley Blake"), jointly founded the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (later known more commonly as "Friendly's"). Their first restaurant opened in 1935, during the Great Depression, in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. By the 1970s, the brothers began to fight over the direction of the business. The company was sold to

Hershey Foods The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...

in 1979 for $164 million. Under Hershey Foods, Friendly's grew to more than 800 eateries, the highest number in its history. But the chain began to flounder because of high labor costs and intense competition. Donald Smith, a veteran restaurant executive, bought Friendly's for $375 million in 1988. Most analysts believed he paid far too much for the struggling firm, strapping the company with a huge debt. Blake died on May 24, 2019 in

Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...

, at the age of 102.

Other

A former patron and benefactor of the Springfield, Massachusetts-based

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who soug ...

, Blake asked that his name be removed from the school's campus following the decision by the AIC to close the off-campu
Curtis Blake Day School
in June 2015 for 37 students with language-learning disabilities, reportedly due to declining enrollment. The Children's Study Home Students, also of Springfield, stepped in to provide for the children, who would otherwise have been displaced.

References

1917 births 2019 deaths American centenarians American restaurateurs Businesspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts Men centenarians 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub