The last time we went as a family was back in 2022 and it came to $44 before tip for two adults and one kid to eat the breakfast bar. The only extras was a chocolate milk for my daughter and I had unsweet tea. The food quality was down and absolutely not worth the money.
The last time I went through the drive thru was maybe 6 months ago to get my daughter the Big Breakfast since she likes the eggs, pancakes and sausage links. I asked for sausage links and I was told they didn't have them anymore. Even then she didn't like her eggs and said the pancakes didn't taste good. I assumed she was being a picky kid, but nope, they were dry, like they had been left out under a heat lamp.
We assumed the bill was wrong and we looked it over and sure enough, it was all there. We could drive to Sugar and Spice, pay to park, have a better meal and pay about the same as driving five minutes to the Frisch's we went to back then.
Up until he retired a few years ago I worked with a guy who was pushed out of the company just before the PE firm took over. He was high up enough to have been part of the decision in regards to the switch to Pepsi a few years ago. He called this all around 2016 when I mentioned how the Frisch's I went to the most was markedly different and said he would be shocked if Frisch's was still a company within ten years. So far he's pretty close to his guess.
The wife and I went last weekend to the one on Kyle’s lane in Covington/ft wright. I know everyone has said the quality has gone down hill but hoping for a bit of nostalgia we went. It’s just sad now. Breakfast bar is half of what it used to be, no more lawry’s seasoned salt at the table, and it’s just dirty. Like many I have fond memories of this place as a kid, not even that is gonna save frischs.
Frisch's was one of our places my family went when I was kid and my grandma loved to take us there when we were out helping her run errands. She would die all over again if she came back to life and saw what's happened to her beloved Frisch's. My dad also liked to take my sister and I there when we were kids for a "special" breakfast, aka not a McDonald's drive thru. Up until around 2019 when it REALLY became noticeable that things were changing it was my favorite breakfast place despite the food being just pretty good. It was the nostalgia for me.
It was my grandma’s favorite spot too. Haven’t eaten there in years but I drive by one and think of her. They long got rid of her usual order, the Brawny Lad.
Who's / Where's next? I've seen a small uptick in the numbers of cars at the Norwood location since the Breakfast Bar returned, but not sure if it's enough to save it.
The Fairfield Township one closed a while back literally overnight, the Hamilton one on Route 4 and Bobmeyer closed at some point too and I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other Hamilton ones or one of the Fairfield ones closed soon.
yep , East Side Hamilton closed approximately a year ago now ... my guess is the next to go is Seward Rd in Fairfield since the one in Forest Park still has a regular crowd & the West Side Hamilton one has a lot of elderly folks that still go
Bittersweet end to Frisch's for me. Like many here I had good memories going there with family since it was my grandma's favorite. I remember the first sign they were going downhill was when they tried switching from Coke to Pepsi. My grandma tried to get her favorite cherry Coke when we went after the change was made. When they asked her if she wanted a cherry Pepsi instead she said "I'll just have a water". Crazy how badly this brand was treated under the new ownership.
So my experience with that Delhi location is that it was okay, but declining for a while. When the new ownership and Covid hit everything took a sharp nosedive. They even tried to do a no server model that was horrible. None of the tables got cleaned, and the food still came out sub par and slow.
Thanks for sharing everyone! Cool to see how many memories were made with grandparents here. I did enjoy Frisch's for a while growing up until the decline. Splitting a piece of pie or hot fudge cake used to be such a treat!
The one on Central by White Castle? The building is still there and someone is paying the electric bill because I'll drive by and see some lights still on
All these stores that recently closed were owned by the Maier family. They leased them back to private equity company for 10 years and would not let them say NO. 10 years is up and PE firm is dumping the dogs.
Now Covington is an unusual example. I am sure the Maier family will turn around and lease that site for 5x what Frisch’s was paying them. Highly valuable corner.
I always was under the impression that the PE firm owned all of them and that it wasn't just a lease.
There's more that have closed than just these 4 though. Central Parkways (#3) has been closed for a full year now
The publicly traded business sold to PE firm. It included most of real estate but There were 10-15 parcels that were family owned and “leased” to the company. Family didn’t include those in the deal and forced PE firm to put 10 year lease backs on those.
They probably did not want them when they bought the company but were forced to put 10 year deals on them allowing Maier family 10 more years of guaranteed ground rent upping the value of the deal.
I agree with you 99.9%. Everything has gotten worse. However! Their milkshakes have gotten wayyyyy better. I know it’s because the margin on them is very high but they’re worth buying every couple of months.
I don't think NCH did, at least they didn't have it open the two times I mistakenly attempted eating there in 2023.
I say mistakenly not because I couldn't dine in, but because what I got was such shit that it wasn't even worth the time, let alone the money.
That was one of the still strong locations. It was very busy every time I went in on weekend.
Gest St isn’t listed anymore (on Frisch’s website) , but they were open a few days ago. I called to make sure, but I anticipate they’re not far behind
Unfortunately I can make better/cheaper frischs at home by buying their tartar sauce at Meijer’s (Meijer plural? Idk fight me)
And their hot fudge cakes got TINY. Like a third the size they used to be. Plus the salad bar is crazy expensive, along with no combos if you dine in, everything is charged separately.
I’ll buy their tartar sauce and blue cheese dressing tho. That stuff’s worth its weight in gold.
Edit: oh and pie babies cost what a pie used to
Someone in my local community group was trying to encourage people to go to Frisch's because "it was empty and the poor workers live off tips. Let's show support as a community!" Many were quick to say they were not busy for a reason. Run your business like dog shit and lose business that's how it goes. What a stupid fuckin mindset too, I'm not going to a restaurant for the poor employees to make tips I'm going to enjoy a meal which has not happened for many years there.
I was a weekly Frisch's customer until about 2018. Sometime around then, the menu prices shot up by several bucks and the food became much worse. It was literally cafeteria quality. I stopped going because I don't want to pay $20 a person for high school lunch food. I used to like the tenderloin sandwich, the Big Boy, and the weekend breakfast bar. I kept going after it stopped being any good. Half the selections on the bar weren't replenished, EVER. Bacon was raw or burned. It just became consistently shitty.
There were times I’ve gone by and legit thought they were closed. Just no one there.
The last time we went as a family was back in 2022 and it came to $44 before tip for two adults and one kid to eat the breakfast bar. The only extras was a chocolate milk for my daughter and I had unsweet tea. The food quality was down and absolutely not worth the money. The last time I went through the drive thru was maybe 6 months ago to get my daughter the Big Breakfast since she likes the eggs, pancakes and sausage links. I asked for sausage links and I was told they didn't have them anymore. Even then she didn't like her eggs and said the pancakes didn't taste good. I assumed she was being a picky kid, but nope, they were dry, like they had been left out under a heat lamp.
Same: https://www.reddit.com/r/cincinnati/s/SjmHhNKNQp
We assumed the bill was wrong and we looked it over and sure enough, it was all there. We could drive to Sugar and Spice, pay to park, have a better meal and pay about the same as driving five minutes to the Frisch's we went to back then.
Exact same experience. Too expensive and so bad. Nostalgia got me to go back like 5 times in the past 5 years or so, but it's terrible every time.
That’s wild. When we lived in Covington I felt like it was always busy.
Before or after the buyout?
It’s been between 10-15 years so my guess is before. I didn’t know there was a buyout. That’s a bummer though. The breakfast buffet was great.
We tried going about 3 weeks ago and the grills weren’t working. Time before that was over year ago - the veggie soup was green.
lol same
Going from a publicly traded company to a private equity extraction scheme has really worked out for Frisch's.
Up until he retired a few years ago I worked with a guy who was pushed out of the company just before the PE firm took over. He was high up enough to have been part of the decision in regards to the switch to Pepsi a few years ago. He called this all around 2016 when I mentioned how the Frisch's I went to the most was markedly different and said he would be shocked if Frisch's was still a company within ten years. So far he's pretty close to his guess.
Ask him where I can get the vegetable soup.
Switching to Pepsi was the beginning of the end for them. It doesn’t surprise me that these involved with that disaster of a decision got fired.
I never liked the cherry Pepsi
Private equity is a cancer.
I mean, that’s how these buyouts work. Squeeze every least bit of value out until the business is dead, then move on to the next victim.
So, basically like the mafia? Lol. (This is based solely on many many viewings of Goodfellas.)
The wife and I went last weekend to the one on Kyle’s lane in Covington/ft wright. I know everyone has said the quality has gone down hill but hoping for a bit of nostalgia we went. It’s just sad now. Breakfast bar is half of what it used to be, no more lawry’s seasoned salt at the table, and it’s just dirty. Like many I have fond memories of this place as a kid, not even that is gonna save frischs.
Frisch's was one of our places my family went when I was kid and my grandma loved to take us there when we were out helping her run errands. She would die all over again if she came back to life and saw what's happened to her beloved Frisch's. My dad also liked to take my sister and I there when we were kids for a "special" breakfast, aka not a McDonald's drive thru. Up until around 2019 when it REALLY became noticeable that things were changing it was my favorite breakfast place despite the food being just pretty good. It was the nostalgia for me.
It was my grandma’s favorite spot too. Haven’t eaten there in years but I drive by one and think of her. They long got rid of her usual order, the Brawny Lad.
Who's / Where's next? I've seen a small uptick in the numbers of cars at the Norwood location since the Breakfast Bar returned, but not sure if it's enough to save it.
The Fairfield Township one closed a while back literally overnight, the Hamilton one on Route 4 and Bobmeyer closed at some point too and I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other Hamilton ones or one of the Fairfield ones closed soon.
yep , East Side Hamilton closed approximately a year ago now ... my guess is the next to go is Seward Rd in Fairfield since the one in Forest Park still has a regular crowd & the West Side Hamilton one has a lot of elderly folks that still go
Hopefully the one at the airport so we can get a food option in Terminal A that is quick/doesn’t suck.
Wow. If anyone has any unused gift cards, you better use them asap.
lol. Do they not work at the others?
They are closing them left and right
They've closed like 5 stores in as many days
Bittersweet end to Frisch's for me. Like many here I had good memories going there with family since it was my grandma's favorite. I remember the first sign they were going downhill was when they tried switching from Coke to Pepsi. My grandma tried to get her favorite cherry Coke when we went after the change was made. When they asked her if she wanted a cherry Pepsi instead she said "I'll just have a water". Crazy how badly this brand was treated under the new ownership.
This thread is teaching me that this was everyone’s grandma’s favorite!
Yep my grandma loved going to the Frisch’s on Glenway by West High. My mom would have lunch with her there once a week. That location is gone now too.
Mine went to Delhi and the original location is gone but they’ve rebuilt it. Not sure how terrible it is now. 🙃
My wife got food poisoning there a couple of years ago. We've never been back
So pretty terrible. Ugh.
My parents go to the Delhi one now and they are about ready to ditch it too… they held out this long out of sentimentality I think
So my experience with that Delhi location is that it was okay, but declining for a while. When the new ownership and Covid hit everything took a sharp nosedive. They even tried to do a no server model that was horrible. None of the tables got cleaned, and the food still came out sub par and slow.
Thanks for sharing everyone! Cool to see how many memories were made with grandparents here. I did enjoy Frisch's for a while growing up until the decline. Splitting a piece of pie or hot fudge cake used to be such a treat!
Thats the fourth Frischs that closed this week
The one near Cincinnati State closed a full year ago now, and idk whether anything has even happened to that location
The one on Central by White Castle? The building is still there and someone is paying the electric bill because I'll drive by and see some lights still on
The product quality went way down after they last sold. We used to go all the time but now hardly ever.
It is McDonalds food at Chick-fil-a prices. Not worth it.
Another bites the dust.
All these stores that recently closed were owned by the Maier family. They leased them back to private equity company for 10 years and would not let them say NO. 10 years is up and PE firm is dumping the dogs. Now Covington is an unusual example. I am sure the Maier family will turn around and lease that site for 5x what Frisch’s was paying them. Highly valuable corner.
I always was under the impression that the PE firm owned all of them and that it wasn't just a lease. There's more that have closed than just these 4 though. Central Parkways (#3) has been closed for a full year now
The publicly traded business sold to PE firm. It included most of real estate but There were 10-15 parcels that were family owned and “leased” to the company. Family didn’t include those in the deal and forced PE firm to put 10 year lease backs on those.
So why are they closing locations that supposedly had leases then? Just give them back to the family.
They probably did not want them when they bought the company but were forced to put 10 year deals on them allowing Maier family 10 more years of guaranteed ground rent upping the value of the deal.
Reminder that private equity is cancer.
NO. NO. NOOOOO. Im upset, I really hope Louisville isn't next
Man, I love their grilled cheese
Used to live in Covington. Would get a grilled cheese, cup of chili and an order of onion rings. Soooo good.
The current owners ruined Frisch's quality. Soon they will all be gone. It is sad.
I agree with you 99.9%. Everything has gotten worse. However! Their milkshakes have gotten wayyyyy better. I know it’s because the margin on them is very high but they’re worth buying every couple of months.
Did any of these closed ones ever reopen the dining rooms after COVID?
[удалено]
I don't think NCH did, at least they didn't have it open the two times I mistakenly attempted eating there in 2023. I say mistakenly not because I couldn't dine in, but because what I got was such shit that it wasn't even worth the time, let alone the money.
That was one of the still strong locations. It was very busy every time I went in on weekend. Gest St isn’t listed anymore (on Frisch’s website) , but they were open a few days ago. I called to make sure, but I anticipate they’re not far behind
Gest St does a big lunch business, but so did Spring Grove and they still closed
Frisch’s ain’t what it used to be. It’s just not good at all any more. Pretty soon Frisch’s will just be in the tartar sauce business.
Unpopular opinion? Frischs sucks
That used to be an unpopular opinion. But with their decline in quality, i think most of the city agrees with you.
Look how terrifried Big Boy looks.
Unfortunately I can make better/cheaper frischs at home by buying their tartar sauce at Meijer’s (Meijer plural? Idk fight me) And their hot fudge cakes got TINY. Like a third the size they used to be. Plus the salad bar is crazy expensive, along with no combos if you dine in, everything is charged separately. I’ll buy their tartar sauce and blue cheese dressing tho. That stuff’s worth its weight in gold. Edit: oh and pie babies cost what a pie used to
Ask not for whom the bell tolls...
AIEEEEEEEEEEE 🔥🔥🔥😖💀
Someone in my local community group was trying to encourage people to go to Frisch's because "it was empty and the poor workers live off tips. Let's show support as a community!" Many were quick to say they were not busy for a reason. Run your business like dog shit and lose business that's how it goes. What a stupid fuckin mindset too, I'm not going to a restaurant for the poor employees to make tips I'm going to enjoy a meal which has not happened for many years there.
Beginning of the end for sure. This location was a money printer for years before Frisch's sold out.
I was a weekly Frisch's customer until about 2018. Sometime around then, the menu prices shot up by several bucks and the food became much worse. It was literally cafeteria quality. I stopped going because I don't want to pay $20 a person for high school lunch food. I used to like the tenderloin sandwich, the Big Boy, and the weekend breakfast bar. I kept going after it stopped being any good. Half the selections on the bar weren't replenished, EVER. Bacon was raw or burned. It just became consistently shitty.
Ban Frischs hurt the crap equity company
Can they just go ahead and close all of these? The product has sucked worse and worse since 2020.
High prices, bad food, and poor service. You can have two of those and still be a successful business, but you can't have all three.
What? What do I do for a lunchtime big boy?
I got your big boy right here.
😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂
plz close the taco bell there too, absolute worst
Remember, these places are about real-estate not food
So I grilled a bad ass steak 🥩 from kroger for $7. Potatoes were $2. 
Who would ever eat at one of these places. Absolutely disgusting!!!