Frisch's has been a beloved local brand for decades, the Mainliner on Wooster Pike in Fairfax has been a kind of flagship. The location is one of the oldest continually operating restaurants in the hamburger chain, opening in 1939.
It boasts a distinctive sign featuring a likeness of the three-prop-engine airplane it's named after and, until recently at least, a small museum dedicated to Frisch's history. That could change soon. The location and several others face eviction hearings Dec. 13 in Hamilton County Courts.
Inside the Mainliner, a display case that once held pieces of Frisch's history is empty. Employees say they're looking for other jobs.
"It's an emotional time," one told WVXU.
Patrons, too, are already feeling the loss.
Kendra Dorsey grew up in the neighborhood. This location has been a special draw for her. She recently dropped by for what might be her last visit.
"It's a regular spot for us," she said. "It's a spot I take my grandkids because it's affordable and it's not too fancy but it's kind of fancy. I grew up around here. My dad used to be a manager of Frisch's, and it was my first job when I was 15."
RELATED: Frisch's "Big Boy" Museum Serves Up Plenty Of Memorabilia
Samuel Frisch opened his first cafe in 1905 in downtown Cincinnati. He followed up with another location called Frisch's Stag Lunch in Norwood a decade later. When Frisch passed away in 1923, his sons took over the business. David Frisch, one of them, branched out and opened the Frich's Mainliner in 1939.
In the 1940s, the younger Frisch brought the Big Boy concept to the chain. The Mainliner was the first Frisch's Big Boy, serving the distinctive double-decker hamburgers with the iconic Big Boy statue out front.
Patros say the location has been a central spot in Fairfax ever since. Just across the dining room from Dorsey, Harold Parry was settling in for a bowl of vegetable soup and a cup of coffee. He estimates he's been coming to this Frisch's for at least three decades. He used to come with his parents before they passed away. Now he comes and chats with employees and other patrons.
"There's just something about Frisch's," he said. "This couple that was behind me in their booth said they've been coming for a long time, too. We can only both hope that they can work out this problem that they're having right now."
Atlanta-based NRD Capital, which also owns chains like TGI Friday's and Fuzzy's Tacos, paid $175 million for the Frisch's brand in 2015. It sold the real estate property held by more than 70 of those stores the same year to Florida-based NNN REIT, an investment trust, for $74 million and leased the locations back from the company.
That arrangement began causing problems when NRD fell behind on rising lease payments to NNN earlier this year. In court documents, NNN claims Frisch's owes more than $4.5 million in back rent.
When NRD purchased Frisch's, the chain had 121 locations. Now, it's down to 57 — and more are still in danger of closing.
Twenty-one of those former locations have closed or been evicted recently because of missed lease payments. The Mainliner and locations in Sharonville and Queensgate face hearings this week.
Jack Hurlinger thinks that's a shame. On a recent weekday he sat at the small bar counter near the cash registers and the kitchen. Employees said he's a regular there.
Hurlinger said he's come to the Mainliner for years, first with his dad and then later as a young man to meet with fellow hotrod fans. He said he noticed a dip in quality after the chain's sale, but stuck with the Mainliner and recently noted big improvements.
Some members of Frisch's management team have purchased several of the endangered locations to try to keep them open. Meanwhile, NRD says it has no plans to shutter the brand entirely.
"No need to worry-Frisch's is here to stay!" the company posted on its Facebook page Dec. 3 with a link to open locations. The Mainliner is at the top of that list despite its looming eviction hearing.
Hurlinger said he hopes the Mainliner can somehow stay open, noting the historic restaurant occupies a special place in the community. He blamed private equity firm NRD's business model, saying it was focused on short-term profit instead of the long-term stability of the brand and its locations.
"This place means a lot to me," he said. "I've developed friends who work here, and I try to come in and support them. I feel bad for what they're going through right now."