Despite Internet chatter, Ironton keeping its Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant

With all of the “chatter” on social media and news stories in traditional media about the closing of some Frisch’s Big Boy locations throughout the U.S., concerns remain regarding the Ironton location. 

Rest assured, all of the American comfort foods that are signature to Frisch’s Big Boy are NOT leaving Ironton.

“This is a good example of people not getting good information,” David M. Lucas, marketing manager for the Ironton location, said. “If you don’t give people accurate information, they’ll make up their own.”

Lucas said there are two types of companies that own Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants. One owns restaurants, including the menu, the product and the marketing. 

“Those kinds of places make decisions; they get together in board meetings,” he said. 

Then there is another group that buys these restaurants, they are holding companies. 

“They’re buying a product,” Lucas said. “Someone in that chain is in command. They don’t own it. These holding companies try to build these up and try to sell them for profit.” 

The news of the closings of some Big Boy locations is the result of a holding company looking for a buyer, according to Lucas. 

“They’re trying to hold out for the best buyer,” he said. “They began to negotiate with a company that wanted to run the restaurant. They finally sold it. In the meantime, they tried to pare down the balance sheet. They started closing company stores that were not making a profit.”

Lucas said that coming out of COVID-19, a lot of restaurants either closed or pared down their operations.

“Some of these places never got their constituency back,” he said. “Their customers developed new habits. I think that’s what happened to the corporation of Frisch’s.” 

The sidebar is there are several restaurants that are franchises. They buy the logo, the food bases, the menus, the way they fix the food, specifically the way they make the Big Boy sandwich, complete with the special sauce. 

“It all comes in a franchise package,” he said. “Someone local or semi-local owns the restaurant. That’s what Ironton is. It’s a franchise. It is locally owned.”

Corporate, Lucas said, out of the sale with the holding company closed some stores that were paying high leases. After COVID-19, the leases for a lot of company restaurants increased a lot.

“Sometimes they tripled,” Lucas said. “You’re making less money because of COVID and post-COVID. They’re raising the lease — eating into what little profit you have left.” 

The Frisch’s Big Boy franchise in Ironton went completely untouched by all of this change.
“We did not go untouched by COVID,” Lucas said. “The marketing — we really had to step it up to let people know we’re still here. We still have the American dream, the American menu, the Big Boy.”

Then the news got out that locations elsewhere are closing. Lucas said people assumed they are all closing.

“That’s not true,” he said. “Franchises are still operating. They still have the marketing, the Big Boy logo, the menu, the recipes—that belong to that package. We’re still doing business. We’re not closing!” 

People are even calling the Ironton restaurant asking about it.

“Our location will always operate, along with several others,” he said. “We have the recipes and the products to pull all of this together.” 

Some of what is going on, Lucas said, is part of the American experience. 

“We don’t want to give it up,” he said. “We had to give up a lot of other things during these last few years. We don’t want to give up this tradition.”

Lucas said area residents who enjoy good food should get in the car, drive to the Ironton Big Boy and say—”I’m glad you hung in there and made it through COVID.”

“Have a Big Boy,” he said. “Enjoy a warm, sit-down meal. They serve comfort food.”