Country Pizza owner still bitter; fundraising campaign started

Harry Kyros, the outgoing owner of Country Pizza, is bitter about having to leave, though his landlord says that Kyros “never came to talk to me about it” when issue of increased rent was raised.

Johnny Frangieh bought the gas station and car repair business along with the Doherty’s property for $1.6 million in 2023, and Country Pizza was thereafter on a month-to-month lease for its portion of the space. Kyros told the Lincoln Squirrel last week that Frangieh raised the rent by $1,000 two years ago and recently told him it would be going up by another $1,000, while at the same time refusing to give him a multi-year lease.

“I can’t charge $100 for a pizza, What does he think this is, a gold mine?” Kyros said on Feb. 11.

But Frangieh disputed the notion that he had forced Kyros out. “He wants to leave,” he said on Feb. 11. “I didn’t kick him out — he never came to talk to me about it [the latest rent increase]… There’s always two sides of a story. I’d like it if people came and asked me and not make a judgment.”

Asked about his plans for the restaurant, Frangieh said, “There’s still going to be a pizza place on his town.” It will probably close for a week or so for maintenance and repairs (“no major renovations”) but will reopen under the same name, at least for the time being, depending on who ends up running the business day to day, and Frangieh said he did not know who that would be.

Corporate records from the Secretary of State’s office show that Kyros established Country Pizza LLC in 1997. On Feb. 5, a new corporation with Frangieh as head called Lincoln Pizza LLC was established. Resident Mark Holzwarth said Kyros told him the on the evening of Friday, Feb. 6, so he posted the news on LincolnTalk early the next morning.

Kyros confirmed on Feb. 11 that Frangieh had bought the pizza ovens and other equipment from him. “I’m kind of stuck,” he said, since it would cost him money to remove and store the equipment while trying to find a buyer for the items, which was no sure thing. At least one potential buyer of the business offered about $90,000 if it came with at least a three-year lease, but that wasn’t forthcoming from Frangieh, said Kyros.

Though he wouldn’t say what Frangieh paid him for the equipment, it was “an insult… pennies on the dollar” compared to what he had paid or it or what it was now worth, Kyros added. “No one’s going to buy a business without a lease. So I leave with something or I leave with nothing. Not only am I out of a job, but I’m out of my investment… What he’s doing is perfectly legal but not good business. I don’t think he knows this town.”

An outpouring of sympathy for Kyros culminated in a GoFundMe campaign started by resident Greg Darnall.

“With both of their children currently in college and this business being Harry’s lifelong work, the loss of income is a heavy burden. Harry has always been there for us, and now it’s our turn to be there for him,” Darnall wrote in the GoFundMe pitch. “100% of the funds raised will go directly to Harry, his wife, and their kids to help them through this difficult transition. Your support will help cover living expenses and, depending on how much we raise, may even help Harry open a new restaurant or find a new path forward.”

As of Feb. 12, the campaign had raised almost $5,300 toward its $7,000 goal.