CINCINNATI — A Hamilton County magistrate granted writs of eviction against five Frisch’s restaurants on Friday, including the beloved Mainliner location in Fairfax and two locations that were already closed.
An attorney for the company requested more time to vacate the stores, saying it’s already struggling to shut down 11 other evicted restaurants during the holidays.
An attorney for Frisch’s landlord, NNN REIT LP, asked for the standard 7-day writ of eviction instead of the 10-day writ requested by Frisch’s.
“They’ve had plenty of time to get out,” attorney Anthony Hornbach said.
The Mainliner in Fairfax announced in early December it's facing eviction notices.
Find out what Frisch's Big Boy restaurants remain open here.
Amid the eviction hearings, several vendors have also filed lawsuits against Frisch's.
Schreiber Foods based in New Jersey claims the restaurant owes them $18,547.20 in unpaid invoices. Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea based in Florida also claims Frisch’s owes them in total $30,166.63 with interest.
Frisch’s financial troubles came into the spotlight in October when property owners claimed the chain was $4.5 million behind in rent. According to Hamilton County court documents, the real estate company NNN Reit first filed an eviction action against Frisch's in September over the company's failure to pay rent after initial default notices in February.
NNN said in an Oct. 10 request to reschedule the eviction hearing that it had served 27 three-day notices to leave and filed 14 eviction actions in multiple Southwest Ohio counties — with more on the way.
These financial issues led them to close down several locations in the Tri-State with more expected to be on the chopping block. The latest incoming closure is the Mainliner restaurant. According to Frisch’s website, the Mainliner restaurant was Cincinnati’s first year-round drive-in named after the first tri-motor passenger airplane. To this day, a replica of that plane remains on the restaurant’s sign.
Magistrate Michael Inderhees gave Frisch's locations in Queensgate, Fairfax and Sharonville 10 days to vacate. The locations in North College Hill and Price were giving 10 days to vacate as well, but those locations are already closed.
As of Dec. 11, 2024, NNN REIT LP owns 65 Frisch’s restaurant locations, 35 of which are now closed, while 14 more are facing eviction lawsuits or notices to vacate, based on court records and media reports. That leaves 16 NNN locations that have yet to be threatened with closure.
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