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CINCINNATI — Frisch’s Big Boy fans revolted in 2013 when the iconic Cincinnati restaurant chain switched from Coke to Pepsi. Then, they cheered in 2015, when its new owner canceled its Pepsi contract to switch back to Coke.
Now, a new Big Boy restaurant chain is entering the Cincinnati market. And it might do the same thing.
“All of our drinks taste delicious over crushed ice, but right now we’re serving Pepsi products,” said Tamer Afr, CEO of the Michigan-based Big Boy Restaurant Group. “We’re a proud partner of Pepsi.”
But does that mean it could change?
“Contracts come up every so often and people evaluate what’s best for the business and what makes sense,” he said.
Hear more from Afr in the video below:
Dolly’s Burgers and Shakes opened its second Cincinnati restaurant Tuesday in a former Frisch’s location at 7706 Beechmont Ave.
The company is using the name of Big Boy’s girlfriend because a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking its use of the Big Boy name in Frisch’s franchise territory.
Afr said his company plans to open more than 50 locations this year in restaurants closed by Frisch’s evictions. Its landlord, NNN REIT LP, cut a deal with the Michigan chain to recoup some of its losses after Frisch’s stopped paying rent last year.
“For us, it’s about job creation,” Afr said. “to me, the real story is about all these employees that have been here for 30, 40 years, serving customers, and being happy to come back and have a job.”
Frisch’s has argued in court documents that the two restaurant concepts are “confusingly similar” and violate its intellectual property rights to use the Big Boy brand in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
Dolly’s customer Brandon Welsh can vouch for their similarity.
“I really didn’t pay attention, to be honest with you. I pulled in here thinking it was a Frisch’s because nothing’s really changed,” Welsh said.
The Hamilton resident stopped at the Anderson Township location while visiting family. He ordered a Super Big Boy with tartar sauce on the side and liked the result.
Although he prefers Coke, he was OK ordering Pepsi instead.
Afr said he received more questions about tartar sauce than Coke in his two-day visit to Cincinnati. In a release, Afr said the chain’s sauces and ice cream are made in their commissary with local restaurants cooking menu items — “rest assured — contrary to what you may have heard, we know that the white sauce is the right sauce for our signature burgers in Cincinnati.”
And Afr said he expects the company can co-exist with Frisch’s whether it switches to Coke or not.
“We’re not trying to be Frisch’s. Our menu’s going to be a little different,” he said. “So far, everybody’s been pretty happy with the food quality.”
