CINCINNATI — Two Frisch's Restaurant Inc. executives are leading the buyout of "select" locations from the company's Atlanta-based owner in an attempt to keep the struggling chain afloat.
Don Short and Cheryl White have joined an unspecified number of senior managers in the purchase, according to a press release.
White is a Cincinnati-based vice president of operations who joined Frisch's in 1993, according to her LinkedIn bio.
Short has worked as an area coach for the company since 1997, according to LinkedIn. He lives in Englewood, Ohio near Dayton.
“We are very grateful and extremely excited to have the opportunity to carry this beloved icon forward," Short said in the press release. “Some Frisch’s units are no longer viable. However, other units are well situated to move forward, and we plan to invest in those locations and add new units in the years ahead.”
A Florida-based company, NNN REIT LP, has filed 17 eviction lawsuits in Southwest Ohio that claimed the restaurant chain is $4.6 million behind on rent.
It also faces a lawsuit alleging the company owes FC Cincinnati $150,000 in unpaid sponsorship fees.
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The press release doesn't specify which stores will stay open due to the sale, but hints at the difficulties faced by nonviable locations.
"The company has made efforts to negotiate a resolution for all the viable units to stay open permanently, or at least through the holidays, to save thousands of employees’ jobs and benefits, but to no avail," said the release.
