March restaurant recap: 10 coming soon, 9 open, 1 under new ownership, 1 condemned

If you know of a new restaurant coming to the Dayton area, email Natalie.Jones@coxinc.com with details.

NOW OPEN

Food truck specializing in gourmet hot dogs opens in Dayton area

Nacho Average Dogs, a food truck specializing in gourmet hot dogs, nachos and walking tacos, is now operating throughout the Dayton area.

The food truck is family owned and operated alongside Batter Up Funnel Cakes and Dunkers and Beans. The family decided to open Nacho Average Dogs this year after wanting to offer something more than sweets.

Nacho Average Dogs offers six specialty hotdogs including the Mountain Mama (chili, coleslaw, mustard and onions) and Ring of Fire (chili, nacho cheese, crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, jalapenos, mustard and onions). The food truck also serves nachos and cheese, nachos deluxe with chili, nacho cheese, onions and jalapenos, walking tacos with Fritos, chili and nacho cheese and pretzels and cheese.

Crumbl Cookies opens in Troy

The Miami Valley’s newest Crumbl Cookies location opened March 22 at 1849 W. Main St. in Troy. The store is in the Troy Towne Center near Walmart and Kohl’s.

The new store is owned by Reggie Germany and his wife, Keah. Reggie Germany is a former NFL player for the Buffalo Bills, as well as a former Ohio State football player.

The couple opened their first store in the Dayton area at 1530 Miamisburg Centerville Road in Washington Twp. in February 2022.

Hot Head Burritos expands in Dayton area with food truck

Hot Head Burritos, a locally owned fast-casual restaurant chain, is continuing to expand throughout the Dayton area with a food truck.

The chain had the opportunity to buy a used food truck in the fall of 2023. Since January the food truck has visited corporate events and several breweries in the area.

Hot Head also has a new franchisee that is planning to open a food truck/trailer in the next 30 days in Miamisburg. This operation is planning to be stationary at the corner of Byers Road and Ohio State Route 725 near Bob Evans.

Dunkin’ opens in Xenia, Popeyes coming soon

The Xenia Dunkin’ at 2014 Main St. near the ALDI grocery store is officially open.

The coffee shop is in the midst of a soft opening with a grand opening celebration planned for April 2. The new Dunkin’ features a double drive thru. On the inside, customers can expect their favorite signature cold beverages such as iced coffee served through a tap system and a front-facing bakery case with donuts and other baked goods.

Gilligan Company is also the franchisee of the Popeyes restaurant next door at 2028 W. Main St. A soft opening is slated for late April with a grand opening to follow in late May, said Julea Schuh Remke, a spokeswoman for Gilligan Company.

Hidden Valley Orchards in Lebanon permanently welcomes Dayton Barbecue Company

Anyone planning to visit Hidden Valley Orchards in Lebanon will soon smell the sweet aroma of barbecue being smoked. The Dayton Barbecue Company now has a permanent spot at the orchard after operating there for nearly three months last year.

Dayton Barbecue Company at HVO will feature a menu with meats such as chopped brisket, sliced brisket, pulled pork, spare ribs, rib tips, half chicken and quarter chicken. Sides will include mac and cheese, loaded mac, collard greens, green beans and baked beans. Seasonal items planning to make a return this fall include pinto beans and red chili (brisket chili).

The business is holding a series of Saturday soft openings throughout March and April. The grand opening is May 1.

Victor’s Taco Shop opens on Far Hills near Kettering

Victor’s Taco Shop’s newest location at 5837 Far Hills Ave. in Washington Twp., near the edge of Kettering, is now open.

“We’ve been wanting to come to the Kettering area for a couple years now,” co-owner Jonathan Gaytan previously said.

Gaytan was eyeing this location, which was previously a Taco Bell, for about three years now but every time he inquired about the space someone else had been in contract. Gaytan said when the contract fell through, the timing was finally perfect.

The 2,000-square-foot building features a dine-in area with seating for around 55 people and a drive-thru.

Honey Toast, a new breakfast, brunch spot, opens in Fairborn

Honey Toast, a new breakfast and brunch spot, is open at 130 N. Broad St. in Fairborn.

The restaurant is located in the former space of Tudor’s Biscuit World that closed its doors in January after serving breakfast and lunch for nearly five years.

Honey Toast is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day except Tuesday.

Outback Steakhouse opens in Centerville

Outback Steakhouse has opened its new re-designed at 5181 Cornerstone North Blvd. in Centerville.

The average Outback Steakhouse is 6,000 square feet, but the 4,694-square-foot Centerville restaurant optimizes back-of-house space to reduce its footprint, the company said in a release.

The new location features a new interior design and a mural created by artist Lindsey Jenneman. Inspired by the Dayton area’s aviation roots, the artwork depicts a koala wearing sunglasses, with the Wright Brothers and American flag in the reflection.

Popeyes celebrates grand opening in Huber Heights

The Dayton area’s newest Popeyes at 7666 Old Troy Pike in Huber Heights celebrated its grand opening March 26.

Popeyes was founded in 1972 in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The fast-food chain was once a Dayton area mainstay with multiple locations in the early 1980s. When those closed, the region went without a Popeyes for several years. Gilligan Company led the chain’s Miami Valley resurgence when it acquired the Harrison Twp. and Springfield Popeyes locations in 2016.

Gilligan Company owns a total of 34 Popeyes Louisiana Chicken locations in the Indianapolis, Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus markets.

REOPENED UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

Dunaways in Troy reopens under new ownership

Dunaway’s Beef ‘n Ale in Troy reopened under new ownership March 15 with a three-day St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

The restaurant was previously owned by Sandy and Brenda Dunaway, who operated the Irish pub for 33 years until they were ready to retire at the end of February. When the couple first opened the establishment it was more of an east coast deli with sandwiches stacked high with meats. Over the years, it eventually morphed into a dive bar with food.

The new owners are Dan and Nicole Burns, a husband and wife duo known as general contractors throughout the Troy area, Andrew Circle, an architect, and a fourth partner. The four real estate investors said they saw a lot of potential in the establishment.

COMING SOON

New pizzeria to open in former location of Carmen’s Deli in Dayton

Troni’s Pizza and Pasta is coming soon to the lobby of the Stratacache Tower on North Main Street in downtown Dayton.

Owner Beto Troni described the establishment as a New York, Florida-style pizzeria catered to those on the go. There will be a large display window featuring a variety of 20-inch pies and each will be hand-tossed with thin crust. Troni also plans to offer chicken parmesan rolls, stromboli, sandwiches, wings and baked pastas.

Troni is the son of the late Jimmy Troni, who owned Jimmy’s Italian Kitchen in Kettering and Deroma Italian Restaurant in Huber Heights. After his father died in 2015, he returned to Florida where he grew up. He came back to the Dayton area in October 2023 and worked at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant — Demnika’s Italiano in Kettering.

Latino-fusion restaurant aims to open mid-April in Dayton

Mamacitas Cantina will be open in about a month in Dayton’s Belmont neighborhood.

Owner Jorge Moreira, originally from Costa Rica, lived in Washington and Texas before moving to Dayton about 11 years ago. He is the owner of Eco Renovations, a construction and painting company. Mamacitas Cantina, located at 1060 Patterson Road, will be his first restaurant.

Mamacitas Cantina will be a Latino-fusion restaurant with a variety of plates from 10 different countries around the world. Countries represented will include the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru and the Dominican Republic. Moreira said he has hired a chef from Costa Rica with experience cooking in many other countries.

Natural wine, coffee bar to open this summer in Centerville

Earl Hatmaker and Megan Lees, a Centerville couple who launched a mobile juice truck in 2013, followed by a brick-and-mortar in 2019, is gearing up to open a new natural wine and coffee bar in Uptown Centerville this summer.

Felicity will be located at 27 W. Franklin St. in the former space of Aisle 9 Tattoo.

The 1,800-square-foot space will house a bar and retail shop featuring items like wine and beer to go, bags of coffee and tea and locally made goods on the first floor. The second floor will have seating. In the future, they hope to have a patio, the couple said.

Lees described the space as having a slow-paced, coffee-shop vibe during the day and a more intimate setting in the evening.

Guests can expect natural wines that are organically grown and sustainably produced. Coffee will come from Boston Stoker. They have plans to partner with one farm at a time and share the story behind each season of coffee, Hatmaker said. The tea will come from Rishi Tea and other local teamakers. To compliment the drinks, they plan to offer pastries, light food and snacks.

New brewery coming to Franklin in summer 2025

In just more than a year, the City of Franklin will soon have a new brewery with a vibrant space for people to gather. Slipcast Brewing is planning to break ground on the corner of Sixth and Riley streets in September and open to the public in the summer of 2025.

Brian Willett, who is opening the brewery with his friends and fellow engineers Dale Seginak, Shaun Lipe, Woody Willis and Bill Sams, said they are excited to be a part of something bigger.

The brewery will be an anchor in the city’s development of the downtown area stretching from the new high school to the river. The city has spent several years creating a vision for the downtown area with goals of reinvigorating Main Street through a streetscape program and enhancing its riverfront connection.

Troni family to open new restaurant in Warren County

After operating Troni’s Italian Restaurant in Kettering for more than 20 years, the Troni family is expanding to Warren County.

Troni’s Italian Bistro is expected to open in July at 3855 Lower Market St. in Turtlecreek Twp., just west of Lebanon. The restaurant will be located within Union Village, a new development with dozens of single family homes and townhomes.

When the restaurant opens, guests can expect Italian fare and a full bar. There will be seating inside for more than 60 as well as seating on a covered patio for at least another 26.

New Thai restaurant coming soon to Xenia

Nara Thai Kitchen, a new family-owned restaurant, is hoping to open in April at 68 Xenia Towne Square near Nail Ace and T-Mobile.

The family is originally from Thailand and moved to the Dayton area around eight years ago.

Customers can expect a variety of dishes including appetizers like Spring Rolls, Thai Fish Cakes and Fried Tofu. The restaurant will also have Tom Yum Soup, Tom Kha soup, Wonton soup and Papaya Salad. Signature dishes include Grilled Chicken, Grilled Pork, Golden Sesame Chicken and a variety of stir-fried protein. Noodle dishes include Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao. Noodle soups and curry dishes are also expected.

New food hall, beer garden expected to open summer 2024 in Dayton

Wes Hartshorn and his two friends and business partners, Shannon Thomas and Scott Johnson, are in the midst of redeveloping 1.5 acres near 2nd Street Market in downtown Dayton into The Silos, a food hall and beer garden with 13,000-square-feet of outdoor space.

Phase 1 of the project is developing the food hall, which they hope to open this summer. Hartshorn said he was inspired to create a food hall that’s built out of shipping containers after traveling throughout the U.S. with his wife, Kathleen. The shipping container idea has been done at places like Railgarten in Tennessee or Detroit Shipping Company in Michigan, but not here in Dayton.

The food hall will feature four food vendors and a bar that will be housed inside shipping containers within a building that once was used as a rail spur to feed the B&O Railroad, Hartshorn said.

Jersey Mike’s Subs to open in Englewood

A new Jersey Mike’s Subs location is in the works for Englewood, continuing the franchise’s expansion into the Dayton-area market.

Documents submitted to the city’s planning department show franchisee Ted Tolliver plans to renovate the existing building at 573 S. Main St. for the new restaurant.

The 1,720-square-foot building was formerly occupied by Ulbrich’s Hometown Bakery, which closed in October.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers to open at former Bolts site in Englewood

National restaurant chain Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers will soon open up shop in Englewood.

The new restaurant will be located on the site of the former Bolts Sports Cafe, at 910 S. Main St. Bolts closed its doors in June 2023 after 30 years in the community, and its building was razed earlier this month to facilitate the development of Freddy’s.

According to franchisee Dominic Gatta, the Englewood location is estimated to open around late August or early September.

CLOSED

City condemns Kettering restaurant

A Kettering restaurant has been condemned by the city, according to information posted at the business.

Young Chow at 20 W. Stroop Road is closed after Kettering’s chief code official found “unsafe equipment” and conditions “unfit for human occupancy,” a document on the property stated.

“The structure shall be condemned … It shall be unlawful for any person to enter, use or occupy the structure except as indicated above,” according to the notice by Joanne Mejias, chief building official for the city.