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Trend of restaurants closing continues

UC economics professor tells WLWT the industry's struggles have increased recently

headshot of Kyle Shaner By Kyle Shaner
2 minute read December 16, 2024

Dozens of restaurants in the Cincinnati region have closed in recent months, with a national chain shuttering locations this past weekend, WLWT reported.

Erhardt, Erwin3

Erwin Erhardt, PhD, associate professor - educator of economics.

TGI Fridays, which filed for bankruptcy in November, closed multiple restaurants in the area.

That comes on the heels of a Cincinnati icon, Frisch's, closing many of its locations. University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center Executive Director Carl Goertemoeller attributed the struggles of Frisch's to a sale-leaseback transaction by the company.

And it's not just chains that are struggling. Independent businesses have been affected, too.

Erwin Erhardt, PhD, an associate professor - educator in the economics department at UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business, said the restaurant industry has faced problems for years.

“I think they've been closing slowly over the past 10 to 12 years, but now it's accelerating,” Erhardt said.

See more from WLWT.

Featured image at top: TGI Fridays sign. Photo/Viktor Forgacs via Unsplash

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