Frisch’s Big Boy Restaurants announced Tuesday it has cut a deal with a group of managers for them to buy an unspecified number of locations of the struggling iconic local eatery.
The group led by long-time Ohio-based managers, Don Short and Cheryl White, is also acquiring the future development rights for the Frisch’s brand , the company said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Also not specified: which locations are being acquired or how many.
“We are very grateful and extremely excited to have the opportunity to carry this beloved icon forward,” Short said in a statement, pledging to invest in the restaurants to be acquired and to add new ones in the future. He admitted that “some (current) Frisch’s units are no longer viable,” indicating the deal will not prevent further locations from closing.
The deal comes after Frisch’s Restaurants admitted Oct. 23 the company faces an unspecified number of evictions from several locations due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Court records reveal “more than 20” properties face eviction in Southwest Ohio – or a quarter of Frisch’s Restaurants’ 78 total locations in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.