While Frisch’s Big Boy continues to face imminent eviction for many of its dwindling restaurant locations, a group of executives has stepped in to try and save what is left of the brand.
According to a press release viewed by the Cincinnati Enquirer, a group of senior management, led by Frisch’s franchising area coach Don Short and vice president of operations, Cheryl White, has purchased the remaining open restaurant locations, plus future development rights for the Cincinnati, Ohio-based family-dining brand.
“We are very grateful and extremely excited to have the opportunity to carry this beloved icon forward,” Short said in the media statement. “Like many other family dining restaurant brands which have struggled due to the devasting impact of COVID-19, coupled with unprecedented cost inflation pressures, some Frisch’s units are no longer viable.”
Short and White have been with the company for 38 years combined and have stated that while they have determined that some of the remaining restaurants “are well situated to move forward, and we plan to invest in those locations and add new units in the years ahead.”
The press release did not specify the purchase price of the remaining locations, nor how many restaurants will remain open after the deal goes through.
At least 20 locations out of the company’s remaining 80 restaurants (as of October 2024) are subject to eviction after failing to pay more than $4.5 million in rent, according to lawsuits filed in Hamilton and Clermont counties in Ohio.
NNN Reit, which owns 66 of the Frisch’s locations, and also acts as the company’s landlord for most of its properties in a sale-leaseback arrangement, filed the eviction notices against Frisch’s Big Boy. Since these lawsuits were filed, 16 locations have either closed or been ordered to vacate the premises by a county judge, according to Cincinnati’s City Beat.
“We will make every effort to keep as many units as possible open in the short term,” White said.
Frisch’s was acquired by private equity fund, NRD Capital, in 2015 for $175 million. The following year, Frisch’s went through a rebranding and modernization. Then, in 2022, James Walker was named CEO, when at the time, the company owned approximately 100 restaurants. According to LinkedIn, Walker left his job as CEO of Frisch's in July.
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