CINCINNATI — In March, they established a goal of opening more than 50 restaurants in Southwest Ohio. Five months later, they are struggling to get to seven.

Big Boy Restaurant Group, a Michigan-based company that entered the Cincinnati market by leasing empty Frisch’s locations , is facing low customer counts in its four Hamilton County locations, based on social media commentary and site visits by the WCPO 9 I-Team.

In addition, Frisch’s former landlord has told investors it has yet to finalize leases for 28 Dolly’s locations it announced in February. And Hamilton County inspection records show a Dolly’s customer tested positive for salmonella in June, but the health department did not find “conclusive evidence” that Dolly’s was “the causative facility.”

The I-Team made several atte

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