“Our team is thrilled to bring the Freddy’s brand to Fairfield,” said DJ Hospitality Group CEO Dominic Gatta III. “We are committed to become a community partner and will excel as a premier employer in the city. In the future, we hope the people of Fairfield look at Freddy’s as family, as a place to go to share precious moments and create memories with friends and family.”
Freddy’s has more than 450 locations nationwide, and DJ Hospitality has nine, and they have six under construction, said Amber Downey, spokesperson for DJ Hospitality. Before the Fairfield site will see significant construction activity, the franchise group will have two locations opening soon, Loveland in Greater Cincinnati and Avon in the Cleveland area. Downey said it will take about six months for the Fairfield Freddy’s to build.
“Fairfield is somewhere where we’ve always wanted to be in. We just couldn’t find the right real estate until that opened,” Downey said. “We looked up in Bridgewater Falls (in Fairfield Twp.), and we looked at a whole bunch of areas, and we just couldn’t find anything that was right.”
Mayor Mitch Rhodus said it’s “exciting” to see a new business come into the city.
“They got a track record of doing well everywhere they go, and they have a good product,” he said. “That is a gateway to our community, and we’re hoping to enhance that area.”
Freddy’s will be built in southern Fairfield along the Winton Road/South Gilmore Road corridor, next to Meijer on Meijer Drive. It’s just north of I-275 and the city’s border with Forest Park. It will be the third franchise restaurant to open in what’s known as the Meijer-Gilmore PUD since 2019, with Chick-Fil-A opening in 2019 and Dunkin’ Donuts opening in 2021.
The planned Freddy’s received city approval in 2022 for a 2,400-square-foot restaurant with an outdoor patio and drive-thru window.
Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Peggy Emerson said this is great news for Fairfield, which will give people “another option for our palates to enjoy.”
“They are a rapidly expanding company,” she said. “It’s going to be a great addition down there. We already have several Freddy’s in the region. It’s going to be a great expansion and location so close to I-275.”
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