These 2 Middletown restaurants closed within a week of each other. Will they be replaced?

August ended with a whimper in Middletown, as two restaurants called it quits within a week of each other.

First came Arby's, which closed in late August on 101 Sandhill Drive in Middletown. The Arby's had been in the location for 20 years.

Then came Friendly's. After decades at Dove Run Center along Middletown Odessa Road, the Middletown Friendly's also ceased operations on August 25.

The news follows a few other prominent restaurant closings in the Middletown area this year, including Metro Pub and Grill (formerly Metro Steak and Seafood) at the beginning of the year and Main Street Italian restaurant La Banca in February. Delaware Online/The News Journal reported in March on the closure of Port Penn's Augustine Inn.

Alas! These restaurants in Brandywine Hundred and Port Penn have closed their doors

So what gives with the new closures? Why did Arby's and Friendly's call it quits? Is Middletown seeing a restaurant slump? Here's what we know.

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Why is Middletown seeing restaurant closures? Is it in a slump?

Probably not.

Middletown is among Delaware's fastest growing cities, which will make the area continually tempting to restaurateurs. The zones surrounding the city are growing even more rapidly, with farmland sprouting houses about as fast as one could hope to grow corn.

Most of the prominent restaurant closures from earlier this year have already found new tenants. La Banca's location will soon re-open as a Mediterranean restaurant called Pithari, as soon as the end of September. The historic Augustine Inn will re-open as Augustine Tavern under a restaurant group from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Middletown has, if anything, seen a glut of restaurant openings, and therefore a lot of competition – especially among chain restaurants. Chili's and Outback both opened in Middletown this year , and so did Bubbakoo's Burrito's .

Among locals, the massive food, drink and funhouse Birdie's Links and Drinks opened in January. Delaware-born, beachy-Mexican Taco Reho filed into a former Steak n Shake late last year, and promptly started selling cannabis beer.

Why did Friendly's close in Middletown?

Friendly's representatives did not respond to requests for comment, but public messages by management of the Middletown Friendly's ascribe the closing to "years of declining sales."

"We have thoroughly enjoyed serving you, watching your kids grow up, being a part of school and church fundraisers and hopefully making each of your days a little sweeter," read a message on both Facebook and on the door of the closed restaurant last month. The Middletown restaurant was open for 20 years, rebuilding in 2012 after a fire totaled the property.

The Friendly's chain has seen stormclouds for decades.

Friendly's is an American classic, one of the first and oldest chains in America since opening its first "Friendly" ice cream shop in Massachusetts in 1935. Best known for its ice cream and an unholy wealth of sundaes, the East Coast family restaurant chain sells everything from burgers to clam strips to salmon platters.

But the chain has passed from one owner to after another after its founders retired in 1979. In 2007, Friendly's was snapped by a private equity firm who promptly ran the chain into bankruptcy a few years later, before selling the brand to dairy company Dean Foods.

Under Dean, Friendly's filed for Chapter 11 again in 2020, selling off "substantially all its assets" to an affiliate of franchising company Brix Holdings. For more than a decade, the chain has been hemorrhaging locations in Delaware and elsewhere. About 100 locations remain on the East Coast as of May 2024, according to company press relesases.

New Castle County's locations have been franchised by the same family for years, under the name RRC Restaurants Inc., headed by Brian Myers. In 2012, that portfolio included six Friendly's across New Castle County, but that number has dwindled since.

Just three Friendly's remain in Delaware after the Middletown closing: People's Plaza in Glasgow, Lantana Square Hockessin, and Rehoboth Beach.

Two years ago: With Friendly's closed, what is being built at Newark's I-95 access point?

Why did the Middletown Arby's close?

Arby's representatives did not respond to requests for comment on the closing of the Middletown restaurant.

The roast beef sandwich giant – often cited as "America's second-largest sandwich chain" after Subway – has also seen its share of tumult, and a similar round-robin of owners since its founding family sold off to Royal Crown Cola in the '70s.

But the brand has also seen a bit of a resurgence after its tongue-in-cheek "We Have the Meats" campaign and the successful launch of a surprisingly well-reviewed hamburger in 2022.

How's the Arby's burger? How it tastes, and when you can buy it

The chain boasts more than 3,000 locations nationwide and as far away as Saudi Arabia. The chain boasts 14 locations in Delaware, including 6 in New Castle County. A new Arby's location opened last month in Milford.

As to the reasons behind the Middletown restaurant closure, the tenure of the restaurant – almost exactly 20 years – could be a clue.

A 20-year lease is a fairly common term for restaurants, and the end of a lease is a common moment for franchisees and landowners alike to assess their options. The property at 101 Sandhill Drive is owned by Maryland-based real estate company ACW Investments, according to county records.

What's certain is this: The closure of the Arby's in Middletown leaves an Arby's desert in southern New Castle County, along a 40-mile stretch from Glasgow to Dover. Sorry, meat lovers!

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Matthew Korfhage is business and development reporter in the Delaware region covering all things related to land and money: openings and closings, construction, and the many corporations who call the First State home. Send tips and insults to mkorfhage@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: These 2 Middletown restaurants closed within a week of each other. Will they be replaced?