EXHIBIT 99.1


          EXPLANATION CONCERNING ABSENCE OF CURRENT WRITTEN CONSENT OF
                               ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP

         On May 16, 2002, Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (the "Company")
announced that it had appointed Ernst & Young LLP to replace Arthur Andersen LLP
as its independent public accountants. Prior to the date of this report, the
Arthur Andersen partners who reviewed the Company's most recent audited
financial statements resigned from Arthur Andersen. As a result, after
reasonable efforts, the Company has been unable to obtain Arthur Andersen's
updated written consent to the incorporation by reference in this document of
Arthur Andersen's audit reports with respect to the financial statements for
this amendment to Annual Report on Form 10-K. Under these circumstances, Rule
437a under the Securities Act of 1933 permits the Company to omit Arthur
Andersen's updated written consent from this filing, and permits us to
incorporate by reference the financial statements, supplementary data and
financial statement schedule included herein into present and future
registration statements, without the written consent of Arthur Andersen.

         Section 11(a) of the Securities Act provides that if any part of a
registration statement at the time it becomes effective contains an untrue
statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact required to
be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading,
any person acquiring a security pursuant to such registration statement (unless
it is proved that at the time of such acquisition such person knew of such
untruth or omission) may sue, among others, every accountant who has consented
to be named as having prepared or certified any part of the registration
statement or as having prepared or certified any report or valuation which is
used in connection with the registration statement with respect to the statement
in such registration statement, report or valuation which purports to have been
prepared or certified by the accountant.

         As noted above, Arthur Andersen has not consented to the incorporation
by reference of its audit reports in this amended filing, although it has
consented to the incorporation by reference of its audit reports contained in
the initial filing of the Company on Form 10-K. While the extent of any
resulting limitations on recovery is unclear, Arthur Andersen may not be liable
under Section 11(a) of the Securities Act because it has not consented to being
named as an expert in any present or future registration statement into which
this Form 10-K/A may be incorporated by reference or the lack of a currently
dated consent could limit the time in which any such liability could be
asserted. The Company believes, however, that other persons who may be liable
under Section 11(a) of the Securities Act, including the Company's officers and
directors, may still rely on Arthur Andersen's audit reports as being made by an
expert under the due diligence defense provision of Section 11(b) of the
Securities Act.