MIAMI VALLEY — One of the two groups fighting over who can reopen Frisch’s locations in the Miami Valley is speaking out.
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Big Boy Restaurant Group, LLC., a Michigan-based company, released a statement Friday morning addressing the lawsuit they were named in earlier this month regarding the Big Boy brand and related intellectual property.
While they said they cannot comment on pending litigation, they did say they currently operate 56 Big Boy restaurants in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, California, and North Dakota. They also have at least one international location in Thailand.
“Big Boy Restaurant Group is committed to protecting the reputation of the Big Boy brand. We do so every day by serving quality food procured in our commissary, hiring employees who are dedicated to creating positive, memorable experiences for our guests, and representing the brand as a good community partner.
We intend to vigorously defend the Big Boy brand. We are deeply concerned by the recent events related to the restaurant closures in parts of Ohio and Kentucky, which have negatively affected local employees and the community at large."
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As News Center 7 previously reported, a group called New Frisch’s sued Big Boy Restaurant Group in the Southern District of Ohio court on Feb. 14.
The lawsuit details decades-old agreements on who can operate the restaurants.
Both groups feel they have the right to re-open Frisch’s locations that closed in the Miami Valley.
The lawsuit says New Frisch’s bought all the rights to operate the restaurant in this area after more than a dozen closed last year.
There is a territorial agreement that has been in place for decades, where Frisch’s could operate in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and parts of Tennessee.
Big Boy Restaurant Group allegedly broke the territorial agreement, according to the lawsuit.
New Frisch’s wants to re-open all the closed locations, keep the Frisch’s branding, and hire people who lost their jobs.
Big Boy also wants to re-open all the restaurants but believes the territorial agreement should be terminated because all the restaurants shut down.
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