If you grew up in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana, chances are good you have some memory of Frisch’s Big Boy. Think: giant statues out front, those double-decker burgers, maybe a family dinner on a Friday night. It’s one of those brands that feels like it’s always been around, rooting itself in the Midwest for almost a century.
But maybe you’ve noticed closed signs, empty parking lots, or the disappearance of your nearest Frisch’s over the last year. So, is Frisch’s going out of business? Not entirely — but it’s clear the company is in deep trouble, with multiple lawsuits, unpaid bills, and a ton of store closures catching up to it at once.
A Quick Look Back: Frisch’s Big Boy from Local Hit to National Chain
Frisch’s started back in the 1930s, building up its reputation on burgers, Big Boy statues, and drive-in service. For decades, it was the Midwest’s go-to spot for casual dining. Then, in 2015, it was bought by the private equity group NRD Capital for $175 million. The new owners aimed to modernize the chain in 2016, hoping a fresh look and a more streamlined approach would bring back both old fans and young eaters.
That rebrand may have helped for a minute, but it didn’t shield the chain from bigger problems hitting lots of restaurant brands: tougher competition, rising costs, changing customer habits, and (more recently) the long shadow of pandemic disruptions.
Mounting Financial Problems: The Rent Crisis and Mass Evictions
There’s no sugarcoating this part. In late 2024, Frisch’s found itself facing legal action from its main landlord, NNN REIT, over $4.5 million in unpaid rent. If you want a snapshot of how rough it got, consider this: at least 20 separate Frisch’s locations got slapped with eviction lawsuits just this fall. That’s more than a quarter of the company’s entire footprint.
What happened? Most of Frisch’s restaurants were sold to NNN REIT years ago and then leased back — a move plenty of chains make to raise quick cash. It works as long as you can pay the rent every month. But when business gets tough and sales drop, those lease bills don’t go away.
By October 2024, NNN REIT had already forced two locations to shut down after winning court orders, and several more hearings were set for November. Frisch’s itself even admitted that a string of closures was happening because of what it called “unforeseen circumstances.” If you’ve ever worked at a place that suddenly went dark overnight, you can imagine how that felt for those teams.
How the Trouble Escalated: The Eviction Fallout
This wasn’t a brand-new issue. Back in October of 2023, NNN REIT had enough — it moved to evict Frisch’s from 64 stores all at once. In case you’re counting, that’s nearly two-thirds of the chain’s locations right there. NNN REIT didn’t just kick Frisch’s out, though. It actually started re-leasing those empty buildings to… Big Boy Restaurant Group, a longtime rival.
That move triggered a legal turf war. Suddenly, you had two Big Boy brands fighting for the same ground: Frisch’s Big Boy and the original Big Boy Restaurant Group. To keep the peace (and protect its turf), Frisch’s got a restraining order in court, which blocked the rivals from taking over its former restaurants for the time being.
So, a company already struggling with sales, shrinking locations, and overdue rent now had to spend time and money fighting in court just to survive on the block.
Closures Hit Hard: The Impact in Midwest Towns
This past spring, Frisch’s closed even more stores across Ohio and Kentucky — a gut punch for those communities. In some towns, Frisch’s was a mainstay, the place that sponsored little leagues and saw generations of families come through the door. For longtime employees, the closure sometimes came as a total shock.
Maybe the most telling stat? Since 2022, Frisch’s has lost more than half its store base, dropping from nearly 100 units to something closer to 31 by autumn 2024. Sales numbers also tumbled by over 50%. These aren’t small speed bumps. That scale of decline is often fatal for restaurant chains, especially those with legacy real estate deals and steady overhead.
When you see that many closures in such a short period, it sends a message: even if the brand survives, it’s definitely not business as usual.
Where Are Frisch’s Restaurants Still Open?
So if you’re wondering, “Can I still get a Big Boy double-decker somewhere?” the answer is yes — but you’ll have to check which spots are still standing. As of late October 2024, Frisch’s had about 80 restaurants left, but legal battles meant that over 20 of those had an uncertain future.
Some Ohio locations remained reliably open, including the one at 1006 N. Main St. in Bowling Green and another at 11157 State Route 41 South in West Union. At least 19 Frisch’s stores in Ohio alone were still serving customers, though the number keeps changing as new eviction notices land or legal decisions come through.
If you live in Kentucky or Indiana, the choice is even slimmer. The number now hovers at a few scattered units, with no guarantee they’ll be there by the end of the year.
Executive Shakeups: A Leadership Change on Top
It’s hard to turn around a company in crisis, especially when leadership itself is less than stable. In July 2024, news came out that James Walker, the CEO who was brought in to steady Frisch’s, had parted ways with the company. In some businesses, losing a CEO doesn’t mean much. But when you’re in the middle of financial chaos, a change at the top adds even more stress — and usually means a new round of tough decisions is coming.
There’s no word yet on a permanent replacement or what direction the new leadership might take. For employees and franchisees, that just adds another layer of uncertainty about the company’s path forward.
What’s Next? Scenarios for Frisch’s Future
Right now, the big question is, does Frisch’s go away forever or find a way to steady the ship? At the moment, no reports show the company is filing for bankruptcy, and the business isn’t shutting down everywhere. But it’s definitely shrinking: more locations could close either because of ongoing eviction lawsuits or the company deciding it’s not worth salvaging all of them.
There are roughly three options for what happens next. One, Frisch’s could secure new financing or court deals to pay off unpaid rent, though that’s a tough sell with sales dropping and trust shaken. Two, the company might sell off part of its business, focus on fewer locations, or even partner with other brands to keep some stores alive.
The third scenario? If Frisch’s can’t deal its way out of the rent crisis and can’t win enough customers back, we could see even more stores go dark — possibly leaving only a handful of legacy locations, or maybe just existing in name only through franchising or licensing deals.
These sorts of turnarounds aren’t unheard of in the food industry. Sometimes, a new investor steps in or local franchisees rally to buy back stores. If you’re interested in the business side of restaurant drama, there are updates and analyses across sites like aroundbusiness.co.uk that track these twists.
The Road Ahead: Frisch’s Isn’t Gone — But It’s a Different Business
For now, Frisch’s Big Boy isn’t out of business everywhere. You can still walk into a few locations, order a Big Boy, and maybe spot that familiar statue by the door. But the chain you remember as a fixture in every Midwest town is much, much smaller, and there’s no sign of a quick turnaround in 2024.
Most insiders agree: without serious changes to its operations, more closures are likely. The next few months will probably bring more court battles, more “Closed” signs, and maybe the chance for a few last meals at your local spot before it’s gone.
Whether Frisch’s comes out of all this as a survivor or as a name fading into nostalgia, it’s a tough chapter for the chain. If you still want to support the brand, now’s the time to check which locations are open — because there’s no guarantee they’ll be around next week. For nearly everyone else, it’s one more sign of how hard it is for classic American chains to survive in a changing world, even when everyone knows the name.
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