Friendly's announced Wednesday, Oct. 5, that it will close 30 of its Massachusetts locations, including the year-old Friendly's Express location in Wareham Crossing.

The plan, which shuttered 63 "underperforming" locations from Vermont to Florida, is part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed by Friendly's. Officials say they hope the company will "emerge stronger and more competitive," according to a statement released by the company on Wednesday.

"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," Harsha V. Agadi, chairman & CEO of Friendly's, said in the statement.

On Thursday, the Friendly's Express in Wareham Crossing was closed for business. Signs in the windows - some hung upside down - alerted shoppers that the restaurant had "permanently closed." It is unclear whether it was open on Wednesday.

Officials said the decision to restructure the business was driven by, among other reasons, the "challenges of the current economic downturn, significantly increased costs, ... [and] rents that exceed current market rates."

Friendly's Express, which is designed to provide a smaller menu of popular meals more quickly than the full restaurants, opened in Wareham Crossing in July 2010.

When the company applied for the licenses it needed to operate the restaurant, a representative told the Board of Selectmen that there were no plans to close the company's full-service restaurant in East Wareham.

Apparently things changed, because on October 12, 2010, workers at the East Wareham location showed up to work to find they were out of a job. The restaurant, with "closed" signs hanging in the windows, had shut its doors for good without warning.

A press representative for the company later told Wareham Week that the restaurant closed "because they opened a new Friendly's Express in Wareham Crossing."

It is unclear how many employees of Friendly's Express are out of a job due to the company's bankruptcy or whether those employees will be offered employment at other locations.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.