Fricker's prepares to spread wings again in Lima

Apr. 19—LIMA — The long-awaited mystery has been revealed. Frickers will be flying the coop to Allentown Rd. soon. According to the restaurant's website, Frickers began when two brothers in Dayton decided to put their talents together and create a chicken wing place. Today, Frickers has multiple restaurants across Ohio and one in Indiana and Michigan.

The project started a few years ago but had some delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of 2021, the City of Lima approved a 50% tax abatement for EATS Investments LLC. Now, the franchise plans to open its 25th store in Lima sometime in May.

Fricker's marketing manager Jim Manley weighed in on the project.

"We are going to open mid to late May," said Manley. "We are getting closer and closer every day. We have TV's going up. I believe inside we will have almost 50 TV's."

Manley said the restaurant is known for its lower prices, family environment and game room for kids of all ages.

"We recognize that people are fighting with everyday monetary problems that everybody has. Whether it's inflation, whether it's the cost of living, whether it's the price of groceries, going out becomes less of a priority," said Manley. "So we have always endeavored to keep our prices as absolutely low as possible."

Manley also said the restaurant enjoys having daily values and children 10 and under eat every day for free.

"A perfect example, in 1985, we had the price for wings at $2.95 for a plate of 10," said Manley. "One week ago, Sunday, not this past Sunday, but the Sunday before April 2, we rolled, in all 24 stores, ... the price of 10 wings back to $2.95. We'll have events like that, that we will do throughout the years there."

Once opened, Frickers can be reached at 419-879-9464. It will be located at 2550 Allentown Rd. In the meantime, the restaurant is on the search for a manager, bartender, dishwasher, server, greeter, and kitchen line cook.

"For me personally, I've been here 25 years," said Manley. "We're not looking for somebody that wants a job this week. We're looking for folks that want to stick around for a long time. And we have come to the determination that in order to keep people a long time you have to treat them badly and pay them poorly. No, I'm sorry. Exactly the opposite. And so it's been kind of our nature. That's the reason that we keep our employees there as long as we do we believe we treat them well and offer them a great career."

Fricker's previously had a location in Lima that closed in 1999, located at 1448 N. Cable Rd. near the present-day UNOH campus.

For more information and updates follow their Facebook page.

Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.