CINCINNATI — It was a chaotic afternoon at the Kyles Lane Frisch’s in Fort Wright Monday. A moving van was parked at its front door as two customers argued about their bill inside. The dining room was empty, letting employees catch their breath between the lunch and dinner rush.
Then came the unexpected. The movers brought equipment into the building, instead of vacating the place as so many other Frisch’s stores have done. And those dissatisfied customers? They walked out without paying.
This is one of the Frisch’s locations most likely to survive, according to the WCPO 9 I-Team’s analysis of property records and dozens of conversations with current and former Frisch’s employees.
Several of those employees, who requested anonymity because they were worried about keeping their jobs, said they were told Frisch’s would emerge from its string of eviction filings next year with fewer than 20 locations.
They expect the surviving stores to be purchased by long-time company managers, Don Short and Cheryl White. Kyles Lane was among eight Greater Cincinnati locations they specifically identified as being part of the management-led buyout.
The I-Team was not able to reach White by leaving messages for her at several stores. Short declined to comment. Frisch’s Atlanta-based owner, NRD Capital founder Aziz Hashim, did not respond to the I-Team’s questions via email.
But employees told us Short and White have made regular stops in the stores they’re acquiring, in hopes of unveiling the new Frisch’s lineup early next year.
Here is a list of local stores that appear likely to be part of Frisch’s next phase:
- 20 Kyles Lane in Fort Wright, KY
- 100 Landmark Drive in Bellevue, KY
- 4462 Eastgate Boulevard in Clermont County
- 11122 Hamilton Avenue in Forest Park
- 8383 Vine Street in Hartwell
- 1255 Main Street in Hamilton
- 5570 Liberty Road in Liberty Township
- 5845 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in West Chester
Frisch's strategy makes sense to Jake Sigler, an assistant professor of accountancy at Xavier University.
"The owners that are looking to purchase are people who know Frisch’s," Sigler said. "They’ve led Frisch’s. And it seems like they know what they’re doing in this area."
The ownership change provides some continuity to a brand that endured lots of turmoil in 2024. But it also represents an opportunity to modernize the Frisch's brand.
"Having a new face to an organization allows them to take new courses of action," Sigler said. "They can look to align themselves with better suppliers, better vendors and change the direction of the company.
Search for survivors
The I-Team has been trying to learn details about Frisch’s recovery plans since Nov. 18, whenthe company announced two of its executives “acquired multiple locations and future development rights of the brand.” The announcement left many questions unanswered, including the location and number of surviving stores.
Those are important details for fans of the iconic Cincinnati restaurant chain, which worked its way into the fabric of local neighborhoods over the years but left many disappointed by a recurring cycle of new eviction filings and sudden closures in 2024. Knowing which restaurant will survive is even more important for employees who were kept in the dark about pending closures, then abruptly told to sign transfer papers or resign.
So, the I-Team compiled a list of all Frisch’s locations in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. We looked up the owners of every property and tried to determine which sites were most at risk for closure. One major risk factor immediately became apparent. Every restaurant that was closed after eviction - or was served notice to vacate this year - was named in a 2015 master-lease agreement between Frisch’s and NNN REIT LP of Orlando, Fla.
Many have pointed to that 2015 sale-leaseback agreement as a major reason for Frisch’s demise this year. The deal provided a cash infusion of more than $145 million to Frisch’s in 2015, but required 20 years of lease payments at ever-rising rents, according to property and court records.
Frisch’s proved unable to pay those rents as it navigated the pandemic, inflation, labor shortages and changes in consumer taste away from casual dining concepts.
By February of this year, Frisch’s was $4.6 million behind on its rent, NNN REIT has argued in dozens of eviction lawsuits since October.
Flurry of closures to end the year
By our count on Dec. 17, Frisch’s has already closed 57 restaurants owned by NNN REIT. Of the 19 still listed on its website as open, at least 11 are expected to close by Dec. 23, based on calls to individual stores and social media posts. Several additional calls resulted in operator messages that the store was “not available.”
Assuming all NNN REIT stores ultimately close, Frisch’s would be left with 22 stores on real estate owned by others. That includes the CVG Airport store operated by Cleveland-based United Concessions Group and the eight local stores listed above. The remaining 11 are outside the 13-county region surrounding Cincinnati.
They are:
- 460 Clifty Drive in Madison, IN
- 3794 National Road in Richmond, IN
- 460 Connector Road in Georgetown, KY
- 1302 US Highway 127 South in Frankfort, KY
- 2001 KY-192 in London, KY
- 2871 S Highway 27 in Somerset, KY
- 11157 State Route 41 in West Union, OH
- 2201 E Main Street in Springfield, OH
- 300 South 9th Street in Ironton, OH
- 831 N Bridge Street in Chillicothe, OH
- 2120 W Michigan Street in Sydney, OH
Future uncertainties
How many of these stores will emerge as long-term Frisch’s survivors? That’s difficult to say at this point, thanks to many unknowns.
For example, will landlords sign off on the ownership change?
Apart from NNN REIT, Frisch’s biggest landlord is another real estate investment trust, Broadstone FR Porfolio LLC. The New York-based company owns four Frisch’s locations, three of which are among the local sites that employees expect company managers to purchase. That might be an indication that it’s willing to work with Frisch’s on the ownership transition. But we don’t know because Broadstone didn’t return our calls.
One of Frisch’s local landlords said the company has reached out to modify its lease for a store at 5570 Liberty Fairfield Road, but the matter has yet to be resolved by his attorneys.
“They’re current on their rent,” said Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon, who owns the real estate for Frisch’s Liberty Township store through his development company, D&D Investment Inc.
Beyond the ownership issues, Frisch’s has some legal and operational issues that could make it harder for a smaller group of restaurants to survive.
On the legal front, Frisch’s has four pending lawsuits filed by business partners: FC Cincinnati, CrunchTime Information Systems Inc., Schreiber Foods and Joffrey Coffee & Tea Company. The lawsuits seek combined damages of more than $280,000. In addition, the Colorado-based chicken processor, Pilgrim’s Pride, threatened litigation in September. It alleged a $101,000 invoice went unpaid since May, according to a document obtained by the I-Team.
On the operational side, Frisch’s recently modified its commissary operations to reduce its warehousing and distribution staff, several employees told the I-Team. Frisch’s restaurants now receive their food shipments from the wholesaler, Sysco Corp.
Although Frisch’s continues to produce food for its restaurants and others, its commissary is also subject to a sale-leaseback transaction with a California-based investment company, NGCRE INVESTMENT XIII LLC.
Hamilton County records show NGCRE bought the commissary from another investor that paid Frisch's $6.5 million for the property in 2020. After NGCRE paid $10.35 million in 2022, Cincinnati Public Schools asked the Hamilton County Auditor to increase its valuation to the purchase price.
During a public hearing to consider that increase, witnesses told the Hamilton County Board of Revision that Frisch's plans to use the commissary for dry storage only.
"They’re already using Sysco to start supplying various items," said Ray Jackson, an appraisal expert hired by Frisch's. "The plan is to do away with the food operation."
Witness also told the board that NGCRE increased its rent by 7% to $657,000 per year and Frisch's wanted to avoid an increase in property taxes, which its lease requires the company to pay.
