Frisch's facts for kids
Logo as of September 2022
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Trade name
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Frisch's Big Boy |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurant, Casual dining, Drive-thru |
| Successor | NRD Partners I, L.P. |
| Founded | 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio 1946 (Serving Big Boys) 1947 (Joined Big Boy) 2001 (Left Big Boy) 2015 (Bought by NRD Capital) |
| Founder | David Frisch |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Brands | Big Boy (Kentucky, Indiana, and most of Ohio and Tennessee) |
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Number of employees
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6955 (2017) |
| Parent | NRD Partners I, L.P. |
Frisch's Big Boy is a well-known restaurant chain. It started in Cincinnati, Ohio. For many years, Frisch's was a partner with the national Big Boy brand. However, in 2001, Frisch's became the sole owner of the Big Boy name in Indiana, Kentucky, and most of Ohio and Tennessee. This means they are no longer connected to the main Big Boy Restaurant Group.
As of April 2024, Frisch's runs 85 restaurants. These are located in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Frisch's is the oldest and largest Big Boy operator, besides the original Bob's Big Boy in California. The company was family-owned for a long time. In 2015, it was sold to NRD Capital, a company that invests in restaurants. Frisch's also used to own some Golden Corral restaurants, but they sold them in 2012.
Contents
How Frisch's Big Boy Began
Early Cafes and Drive-Ins
The story of Frisch's began in 1905. Samuel Frisch opened the Frisch Cafe in Cincinnati, Ohio. He later moved his cafe to Norwood, Ohio. His sons, David, Reuben, and Irving, took over the business after he passed away in 1923. David, or Dave, became the main leader.
In 1932, Dave Frisch started his own Frisch's Café. It was very successful. He opened a second location in 1938. However, he faced money problems and both cafes closed that year. A local businessman, Fred Cornuelle, helped Dave. He gave him money to open a new restaurant.
In 1939, Dave opened the Mainliner. This was Cincinnati's first year-round drive-in restaurant. It was named after an airplane that flew into a nearby airport. By 1944, a second Frisch's restaurant opened. It was designed to look like George Washington's Mount Vernon home.
Joining the Big Boy Family
After World War II, Dave Frisch visited a Big Boy restaurant in California. He was very impressed by the double-deck Big Boy hamburger. He saw that two thinner patties cooked faster than one thick one.
At the same time, Bob Wian, who created Big Boy, was worried. Other restaurants were using his Big Boy name without permission. To protect his brand, Wian needed Big Boy restaurants in other parts of the U.S. When Dave Frisch and Bob Wian met, Wian offered Frisch a special deal. Frisch could use the Big Boy name for just $1 a year. This deal covered Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida. Dave Frisch accepted, becoming the first Big Boy partner.
Because he was the first, Dave Frisch had some unique freedoms. His Big Boy hamburger was a bit different from Wian's. Dave Frisch also created his own Big Boy character. This character was thinner, had reddish or blond hair, and wore striped overalls. He was often shown running or skipping. This was known as the East Coast Big Boy. Most Frisch's restaurants still have statues of this design. However, they are usually repainted with brown hair and checkered overalls now. In 2017, a new statue was introduced. It looks more like the original West Coast Big Boy.
Dave Frisch started selling Big Boy hamburgers in 1946. This was at his Mainliner Drive-In. After signing the agreement with Bob Wian in 1947, the first official Frisch's Big Boy Drive-In opened. It was called Big Boy One.
A revamped statue with a West Coast style will gradually replace existing models.
Growing the Business (1949-1988)
David Frisch opened three more Big Boy Drive-In Restaurants in 1949. One of these was the first in Kentucky. By 1954, Frisch's had 20 locations in the Cincinnati area. They also started allowing others to open Big Boy restaurants under their name. This is called subfranchising.
In 1953 and 1954, Frisch's allowed Azar's Big Boy and Manners Big Boy to open. Azar's was in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Manners was in Cleveland, Ohio. By 1961, Frisch's and its partners had over 150 drive-ins.
Frisch's also opened locations in Louisville around 1956. However, none of these original locations are still open today.
In the 1960s, Frisch's allowed Elby's Big Boy to open in Ohio. But after Dave Frisch died in 1970, Frisch's asked for much higher fees. Elby's then cut ties with Frisch's and operated on its own. This led to lawsuits. Frisch's sued Elby's and later Shoney's. They claimed these companies were operating non-Big Boy restaurants in Frisch's territory. However, the lawsuits were not very successful. Both Elby's and Shoney's stopped being Big Boy partners completely in 1984.
In 1960, Frisch's started selling its famous tartar sauce in grocery stores. Frisch's faced competition from other restaurants. For example, McDonald's in Cincinnati introduced the Filet-O-Fish in 1963. This was a direct challenge to Frisch's.
David Frisch passed away in 1970. His son-in-law, Jack C. Maier, took over as president. When Jack retired in 1989, his son Craig F. Maier became the new president.
In 1972, Frisch's bought Kip's Big Boy. This gave them rights in Texas, Oklahoma, and parts of Kansas. In 1988, Frisch's gained Big Boy rights in parts of Tennessee and Georgia. This was in exchange for letting Elias Brothers operate Big Boys in Ohio.
By 1983, many Frisch's restaurants added drive-thru service. They also added popular soup and salad bars.
Frisch's Influence on Other Big Boy Partners
Frisch's had a big impact on other Big Boy partners. Larry Hatch, who started Eat'n Park Restaurants, visited Frisch's in 1948. He was so impressed that he opened his own Big Boy drive-in in Pittsburgh. Eat'n Park was the second Big Boy partner.
Alex Schoenbaum, who founded Shoney's, was good friends with Dave Frisch. Frisch encouraged Schoenbaum to become the Big Boy partner for West Virginia. Shoney's eventually grew into Frisch's areas. This led Shoney's to stop being a Big Boy partner in 1984.
Both Eat'n Park and Shoney's are still in business today.
Frisch's also created popular menu items. These included the "Brawny Lad" and "Swiss Miss" sandwiches. These sandwiches are unique because they are served on rye buns. Frisch's "Filet de Sole" fish sandwich was also adopted by many other Big Boy partners. Frisch's also started calling a meal with a sandwich, fries, and salad a "platter." Other Big Boy chains soon followed this idea.
Changes and New Ownership (1991-Present)
Frisch's stopped running Kip's operations in 1991. They sold those areas, along with Georgia and Florida, to Big Boy Restaurants International in 2001. Frisch's also updated or rebuilt many of their older restaurants by 2000.
In 2000, Frisch's had a chance to buy the entire national Big Boy chain. The chain was having financial problems. But Frisch's decided not to buy it. Instead, Robert Liggett bought the national chain. In 2001, Liggett's company, renamed Big Boy Restaurants International, made a deal with Frisch's. They paid Frisch's $1.2 million for their rights in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. In return, Frisch's gained permanent ownership of the Big Boy name in its remaining areas. This deal resolved any issues about Frisch's right to operate Big Boy restaurants. It also ended tensions, as Frisch's was exempt from the royalties and fees other Big Boy partners paid. Frisch's original agreement with Bob Wian only required a small $1 per year fee.
Soda Choices: Coke and Pepsi
Frisch's was famous for its "cherry" and "vanilla" Coke. But in December 2013, they switched to Pepsi products. Frisch's said Pepsi offered a better deal. They also felt that adding flavors to Pepsi tasted good. However, many customers were upset. They posted protests on Frisch's Facebook page.
The new owners of Frisch's knew about this issue. In June 2018, CEO Jason Vaughn announced that Coca-Cola would return. Coca-Cola came back to Frisch's restaurants by September 2018. All Frisch's locations now serve Coke products.
Selling Frisch's Restaurants (2015)
On August 24, 2015, Frisch's was sold to a company called NRD Partners. This company is based in Atlanta. They paid about $175 million for Frisch's.
This sale meant that the Frisch's restaurant chain was no longer owned and operated by the Frisch family. Craig Maier, the CEO, and his sister Karen Maier, the marketing vice president, retired. They are grandchildren of the founder, David Frisch. However, they still own and operate some individual Frisch's Big Boy restaurants.
On September 4, 2015, Frisch's Restaurants, Inc. stopped being a publicly traded company. Aziz Hashim, CEO of NRD Partners, became Frisch's new president. In April 2016, Jason Vaughn was hired as CEO.
NRD Partners had plans to grow Frisch's. They wanted to expand in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. They also planned to open more restaurants in Tennessee. Frisch's even returned to downtown Cincinnati in 2018, opening a restaurant in the Carew Tower. However, it closed in 2020.
New Big Boy Mascot
In March 2017, Frisch's showed off a new Big Boy statue design. This new statue looks more like the original West Coast Big Boy. It has black pompadour hair. It also holds the Big Boy hamburger up high with one arm. However, the checkered outfit is replaced with striped overalls. These include a slingshot, like the original East Coast Big Boy. The new Big Boy also looks healthier. Its black and white saddle shoes are replaced with sneakers.
The first new statue, wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform, was placed at the Great American Ball Park. Another was placed at the Dry Ridge, Kentucky, location. Frisch's plans to replace older statues at its restaurants with these new ones.
Partnership with Cincinnati Reds
For many years, Frisch's has worked with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. From 1983 to 1998, Frisch's was even a part owner of the team. This included their World Series win in 1990.
Two Frisch's Big Boy food stands opened in 2013 at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. An East Coast Big Boy statue, painted in a Cincinnati Reds uniform, was placed near one stand. In March 2017, the first of the redesigned Frisch's statues, also in a Reds uniform, was added.
Recent Closures and Challenges (2020-Present)
Frisch's was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They closed 7 locations and limited operations at 7 others. Two locations in Louisville closed, along with the Carew Tower location. During the pandemic, Frisch's also opened "Big Boy's market" in most locations. This allowed them to sell essential goods.
However, the situation became more difficult for the Big Boy chain. After hiring a new CEO in 2022, Frisch's began closing many stores in 2023. They blamed the economy and rising costs. To try and save the company, Frisch's started changing some of its company-owned stores into franchised stores.
The latest wave of closures happened on April 3, 2024. Three locations shut down. This meant that one-third of Frisch's restaurants had closed in just nine years. Four days later, the downtown Covington location also closed.
By April 8, 2024, Aziz Hashem, a managing partner at NRD Capital, explained the closures. He said they were due to leases ending and financial losses. He also confirmed that a fifth location in Beavercreek, Ohio, would close.
Frisch's Big Boy Hamburger
The Big Boy hamburger at Frisch's is a bit different from those at other Big Boy restaurants. Bob Wian's original Big Boy hamburgers used mayonnaise and red relish. However, Dave Frisch later changed this. He used tartar sauce and added dill pickles to his version. He also put them on the burger in a different order.
Using tartar sauce on Frisch's Big Boy hamburgers wasn't just about taste. Frisch realized that using one combined sauce was simpler and faster. Later, the main Big Boy system adopted this idea. They started using a combined sauce of red relish and mayonnaise. This is often called thousand island dressing.
Commercials and Slogans
In earlier years, Frisch's Big Boy character was slimmer. He had blond hair under a cook's cap. He also had striped pants instead of the checkered pants used by Bob's Big Boy. In the late 1960s, both Big Boy characters were redrawn. They started to share common features like checkered pants and brown hair. This allowed Frisch's to keep using its existing statues. They just repainted the hair and overalls. This is the typical statue you see at Frisch's today. However, some locations use the West Coast Bob's Big Boy statue. In 2016 and 2017, a new design and statue were introduced.
Through the 1970s, Frisch's used the slogan, "Frisch's Has So Much More." They also adapted it for Kip's Big Boy.
In the mid-1980s, Marriott, which owned the Big Boy character at the time, thought about retiring the Big Boy. They launched a "Should Big Boy Stay or Go?" campaign. They asked customers at Frisch's and other Big Boy restaurants to vote. Customers voted overwhelmingly for Big Boy to stay.
Some slogans Frisch's has used include:
- "Frisch's Has So Much More" (1970s)
- "Gotta be Frisch's Big Boy! Oh what a value!" (early 1980s)
- "For me!" (early 1980s)
- "Nobody takes care of you like Big Boy" (1980s)
- "America loves its Big Boy" (1988-1989)
- "Frisch's starts with better stuff" (1990s)
- "What's Your Favorite Thing?"® (1998-2016)
- "Good Fun. Great Food. Friendly Faces." (Mid 2010s)
- "Fresh and Fun." (Used on renovated restaurant signs.)
- "Home of Burgers, Breakfast, & Big Boy." (2019-current)
A classic Frisch's jingle from the 1960s went like this:
Stop and enjoy a big Big Boy,
a double-deck hamburger treat,
A national favorite, coast to coast,
So stop and enjoy a big Big Boy.
See also
- List of hamburger restaurants
- List of casual dining restaurant chains
- List of franchises
