Lexington developer Lee Greer has quietly scooped up a big slice of Frisch’s real estate, shelling out more than $17 million for 11 former restaurant sites scattered across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The deals, recorded between October 2025 and January 2026 in public property records, shift a cluster of shuttered Big Boy buildings and parking lots into one investor’s hands and put long-dark dining rooms back in play.
According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, Greer made the purchases through Olowalu Land Company LLC, paying in excess of $17.2 million for the 11 properties, as reflected in those records. The Courier was the first to pin down both the buyer and the timing of the transactions.
The buyer and his business
Greer serves as president of Greer Companies, a family-owned Lexington outfit that operates restaurants and hotels and handles commercial development projects, according to the firm’s own team page. Greer Companies highlights years of franchise work and real estate development, which helps explain why a bundle of former diner sites would look less like a headache and more like a strategic play.
Which sites were involved
The portfolio stretches across the Tri-State, including former Frisch’s locations in Florence, Lawrenceburg, Fairfax, Fort Mitchell, Independence and Cold Spring, along with several other sites in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Those specific locations were detailed by Local 12.
Context: Frisch’s sell-off and closures
The sales land in the middle of a turbulent stretch for Frisch’s, which has faced a wave of closures, eviction actions over unpaid rent and a sell-off of real estate assets. Reports of eviction-driven closings in Northern Kentucky surfaced as the chain wrestled with rent disputes, while a separate review of property records showed the franchise’s owners cashing out sites to capture liquidity and tax benefits, as covered by WCPO.
What might come next
Former restaurant pads rarely sit idle forever. Buyers frequently convert them into quick-service spots, convenience stores or small retail centers, and Greer’s hospitality-heavy portfolio suggests similar possibilities. The Cincinnati Business Courier reports that Greer intends to redevelop the former Frisch’s properties and court new tenants.
Local precedent offers a preview of what that can look like. A former Big Boy site in Moraine, for instance, was bought by Wawa last fall for a planned convenience store and gas station, according to the Dayton Daily News. Examples like that give neighbors a hint of the kinds of proposals that could show up around the Cincinnati region…