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By Mark Fisher
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 07:25 AM
The Kettering-based Hot Head Burritos chain has reached an important milestone, opening its 50th store in Urbana, Hot Head Founder and President Ray Wiley said this morning.
Wiley said at least 10 more Hot Head locations are in various stages of development in Ohio and surrounding states. The Kettering-based Mexican restaurant chain operates in Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and North Carolina in addition to Ohio. Its most recent restaurant is located at 669 Scioto St. in Urbana.
Earlier this year, Hot Head opened a new restaurant at 1120 E. Stroop Road just west of Marshall Road in Kettering that Wiley said is a prototype for future Hot Head restaurants. The Kettering location has a drive-through lane, only the second in the chain to offer that service.
Wiley said last year that he is working to develop Hot Head, which opened its first store in Kettering in 2007, into a national chain. And the chain’s fast-paced growth backs up the national recognition that Hot Head has earned in the past two years: In December 2011, it was named among the “Ones to Watch” by QSR Magazine, which monitors the “quick-service restaurant” category. And for two consecutive years in 2011 and 2012, the chain made FastCasual.com’s list of “Top 100 Movers & Shakers,” which recognizes restaurant chains that reflect the fast-casual segment’s growth.
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 08:34 AM
DAYTON — The highly anticipated Salar Restaurant and Lounge in the Oregon District announced this morning it will open fully to the public on May 30.
The restaurant, which will open in the former Sidebar/Pacchia space at 410 E. Fifth St., gave attendees of the Fleurs et Vin wine-and-food event at Carillon Park a sneak peek of its cuisine on Sunday, and it will host some invitation/soft-opening events prior to its official opening. But on May 30 it will launch its regular hours: It will be open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Monday through Saturday, with the lounge’s two bars staying open late Friday and Saturday nights. Salar will be closed on Sundays.
Salar seats 162 inside and 70 on its two patios, and will open with about 50 employees, according to Harry Trubounis, Salar’s general manager. The restaurant’s executive chef is Margot Blondet. Trubounis and Blondet served in similar capacities for Sidebar, the restaurant and lounge that preceded Salar until its owner, Brian Higgins, closed the restaurant last July. Blondet and Trubounis departed Sidebar several weeks before it closed.
Salar will feature Mediterranean-Peruvian fusion cuisine with French influences, and will serve hand-crafted cocktails. The menu will include small-plate entrees, salads, appetizers and pizzas. Salar’s lounge will create cocktails with house-prepared syrups, fresh fruit and juices.
Coupled with the opening earlier this month of Lily’s Bistro in the former Boulevard Haus/Cafe Boulevard space across the street, Salar’s opening will help reinvigorate the western edge of the Oregon District’s Fifth Street commercial and entertainment district, Dayton development officials have said.
For more information, check out the Salar Restaurant and Lounge Facebook page or call (937) 203-3999.
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 09:09 AM
DAYTON — The Donuts by Thacker’s shops at 518 Wilmington Ave. at Irving Avenue and at 1712 E. Third St. are scheduled to close for good today.
The Wilmington Avenue location has been in business for more than 40 years.
Randy Thacker, co-owner and manager of the Wilmington Avenue location, said there are no current plans to reopen elsewhere.
The strip shopping center on Wilmington Avenue — which also includes a Chicago Gyros and Dogs restaurant, Radio Shack and Smokers Plus shop — is owned by the nearby Hospice of Dayton, which has plans for the property, Thacker said.
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Local restaurant news
By Mark Fisher
| Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 09:06 AM
McDonald’s will soon unveil three new Quarter-Pounder burgers, according to this story from Nation’s Restaurant News.
The new burgers — Deluxe, Habanero Ranch, and Bacon & Cheese — replace the Angus Third Pounder line of burgers, which the chain announced last week it was discontinuing.
The new burgers will make their debut sometime next month, the NRN story says. They were test marketed in Toledo, apparently.
So, how much of the genuine habanero pepper will be on those habanero ranch burgers, I wonder? Will fire extinguishers be available in the dining room? McDonald’s customers will find out in a few weeks…
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Restaurant industry news
By Mark Fisher
| Monday, May 13, 2013, 06:11 AM
Whole Foods has issued a recall of bulk curried chicken salad and vegan curried chick’n salad because the labels on the packages were reversed, according to this news release from the FDA.
The stores at which the chicken salad was served included Whole Foods locations on the east coast and did not include any locations in Ohio. Whole Foods operates a store in Mason among its Ohio operations.
“Whole Foods Market is recalling bulk curried chicken salad and bulk vegan curried chick’n salad because in some stores these items may have been sold with reversed labels causing undeclared soy and egg allergens,” the FDA news release said. “Due to the label mix-up, allergens were undeclared; the vegan chick’n salad contains soy, and the curried chicken salad contains egg.”
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Local food news
By Mark Fisher
| Friday, May 10, 2013, 06:49 AM
DAYTON — The J. Gumbo’s Cajun & Creole restaurant at 1822 Brown St. near the University of Dayton has closed.
A sign taped to the restaurant’s door says simply, “CLOSED — thank you for your patronage.” The restaurant’s phone is disconnected, and a “For lease” sign is already in the window.
Comments posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page suggest the restaurant closed in late April, leaving customers surprised and disappointed. One customer posted on April 23, “How about a going away party or a week’s notice?” And a reply purported to be posted by “J. Gumbo’s — UD” said, “Wasn’t in the budget. Hence we’re closed!”
Reached Thursday by phone, Michelle Barsotti, who oversees franchising for the Louisville, Ky-based chain, referred questions about the closing of the Dayton restaurant to other company officials, who did not respond to requests for comment.
When the restaurant opened in November 2011, Ronnie Dingman, president of operations for J. Gumbo’s, said, “We feel Dayton and UD are a good fit for our brand and our concept … depending upon the success of the Brown Street location we would love to open at least two additional locations in the Dayton area. Community support will dictate our ability to do so.”
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Restaurant closings
By Mark Fisher
| Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 06:58 AM
CENTERVILLE — Talegators sports bar will shut down after the close of business this Saturday night May 11 after a 10-year run at 6270 Far Hills Ave., according to co-owner Dave Ulrich.
Plans call for the sports bar to be razed, and a new McDonald’s restaurant will be built on the site, replacing the current McDonald’s just up the street at 6004 Far Hills Ave. (Ohio 48), according to Ulrich and a spokesman for McDonald’s.
Plans for the new McDonald’s are not yet finalized, but are very likely to happen. Centerville city officials approved plans for the new McDonald’s earlier this year.
“We are still going through our due diligence, but we hope to be done in the early summer,” said McDonald’s spokesman Phil Saken. The new McDonald’s is tentatively scheduled open by mid-fall, Saken said, and the existing McDonald’s will stay open until the new restaurant is ready to open.
Ulrich said he and his partners will lease the land to McDonald’s. The family sports bar’s owners have not ruled out reopening Talegators elsewhere, but no location has been selected, Ulrich said.
While it has been drawing robust crowds in recent months, Talegators’s business was hurt by Ohio’s smoking ban, which took effect in 2006, and later by the recession, Ulrich said. Closing now and accepting the offer from McDonald’s made financial sense, he said.
The closing will affect 10 to 15 employees, most of whom have lined up other jobs, Ulrich said.
Friday night’s music will be provided by the band Uncle Rico, and the band playing for Talegator’s final night will be The Outlets, Ulrich said.
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Local restaurant news, Restaurant closings
By Mark Fisher
| Tuesday, May 7, 2013, 06:36 AM
BEAVERCREEK — A new Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches restaurant is under development at 2476 Commons Blvd. near the Mall at Fairfield Commons.
The Beavercreek site will be the sixth Dayton-area location of the Illinois-based sandwich chain, and the fourth for local franchise owners Jon and Erika Wyss and Brad Hohla. The trio also operate Jimmy John’s locations in Springboro, Sugarcreek Twp. and Miami Twp. The Jimmy John’s locations near the University of Dayton and in Troy are under separate franchise ownership.
The restaurant franchise’s owners signed a lease on the 1,800-square-foot space earlier this month, and plans call for the sandwich shop to open in late summer, franchise co-owner Jon Wyss said. The site is located in the same retail complex as Bruning’s Wine & Clock shop and Osaka Japanese Steakhouse.
Wyss said he and his partners were drawn by the location. “There’s a lot of synergy from the Mall at Fairfield Commons,” Wyss said, and Commons Boulevard is a high-traffic connector between medical and retail facilities in the area.
The sandwich shop will seat about 55 and will open with 25 to 30 employees, Wyss said. Like all Jimmy John’s, the new restaurant will offer delivery.
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Monday, May 6, 2013, 06:59 AM
SUGARCREEK TWP. — A new Starbucks coffee shop and the Dayton area’s second Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt shop will open side-by-side this summer at 6252 Wilmington Pike, adding 30 to 35 jobs to the region.
Starbucks will occupy about 1,800 square feet that includes newly added space to an existing building, while Orange Leaf will move into space that formerly housed a CiCi’s Pizza shop. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said the coffee shop will open “in late summer.” B.J. Patel, co-owner of the Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt franchise store, said the shop is scheduled to open in mid-June.
The Starbucks spokeswoman said its newest Dayton-area location will include a drive-through and will hire about 20 employees. Patel — who co-owns six other Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt locations in the Cincinnati area, including Oxford and West Chester — said the Sugarcreek Twp. shop will hire 10 to 15 people. It will seat 50 to 60 inside and will share an outdoor patio, Patel said.
Patel said he is planning to open another Orange Leaf location, this one near the Dayton Mall, later this year. The Starbucks spokeswoman said the chain “is always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of our customers” but had no announcements to make of any other new southwest Ohio locations.
Starbucks operates more than two dozen locations in southwest Ohio. Orange Leaf opened its first Dayton-area location in the Town & Country shopping center in Kettering last year, under a different franchise owner. In addition to the West Chester and Oxford stores, Orange Leaf’s Cincinnati-area stores include locations in Clifton, Harrison, Western Hills and Florence, Ky.
Sugarcreek Twp. Administrator Barry Tiffany said he welcomed the new development, especially since the former CiCi’s Pizza has been vacant for nearly four years.
“That location has sat dark for way too long,” Tiffany said. “To have two top-notch business partners such as Starbucks and Orange Leaf will be a great benefit to this community, and their presence will help all of the businesses along Wilmington Pike.”
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Friday, May 3, 2013, 09:55 AM
KETTERING — The Hawthorn Grill at 1222 E. Stroop Road is completing a renovation of its dining room and bar and gearing up to launch a Sunday brunch as it approaches its third anniversary.
The dining room and bar renovation included new low-top tables to replace the pub-style tables in the bar area, a fresh paint job, new lights and new framed pictures. The project cost about $8,000, according to Hawthorn Grill chef-owner Candace Rinke.
The Hawthorn Grill is celebrating its anniversary with a new look
The restaurant, which is currently open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and for dinner on Saturday, will launch Sunday brunch service on May 26. The brunch menu will include Bananas Foster French Toast, Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes, Huevos Rancheros, an Angus Beef Burger and a Portobello Burger.
The restaurant’s third anniversary is June 2, and while plans are not yet complete, they will include a complimentary Champagne toast, Rinke said.
The new dining room at The Hawthorn Grill
For more information, call (937) 298-2222 or check out the Hawthorn Grill Facebook page.
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Local restaurant news
By Mark Fisher
| Thursday, May 2, 2013, 07:10 AM
The Smashburger-Great Lakes Brewing Co. collaboration that we first told you about March 29 has produced a special beer-pairings menu that the burger chain unveiled at its three Dayton-area restaurants on Wednesday.
Diners will find a “Smashburger + Great Lakes Pairing Menu” at each of the three Dayton-area restaurants suggesting which Great Lakes brew would best complement each Smashburger sandwich.
The Classic Smashburger, for example, “pairs perfectly” with the Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, a “remarkably balanced beer that features a delicate balance between sweet malt and dry hop flavors,” the pairing menu says. The beer’s “clean finish balances with the simplicity of the Classic Smash(burger).”
And here’s what the pairing menu says about the pairing of the burger chain’s BBQ, Bacon & Cheddar Burger with a Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter: “A burger with big grill flavors and tangy BBQ sauce meets its perfect match with the Edmund Fitzgerald. The two balance well with the sweetness of the BBQ sauce and the bittersweet chocolate-coffee taste and bold hop presence” of the beer.
Smashburger started the beer-pairing menu suggestions in Denver and other western markets late last year, and customers have embraced the idea. Smashburger founder and managing partner Tom Ryan said Smashburger’s beer sales in the Phoenix market jumped 33 percent after the pairings showed up on menus.
Ryan came to the Dayton area in early March to visit the chain’s restaurant across from the Dayton Mall to meet with Luke Purcell, brewer of Cleveland-based Great Lakes Brewing Co. Together, the two sat down to evaluate potential beer-and-sandwich menu-pairing recommendations for Dayton-area stores.
Smashburger is putting together a similar pairings menu with the Christian Moerlein brewery for its Cincinnati-area restaurants.
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Local restaurant news
By Mark Fisher
| Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 10:30 AM
WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — A new and independently owned barbecue restaurant called Charleston BBQ will open to the public on a limited basis starting Thursday at 671 Lyons Road, its owner, Rodney Anderson of Washington Twp., said this morning.
The location is just off Miamisburg-Centerville Road in the Washington Park Plaza, in the space that previously housed Harrigan’s South and before that the Fox & Hound sports bar. Anderson said he has signed a 10-year lease on about 10,000 square feet.
Charleston BBQ will seat 140 and will open with 30 employees, Anderson said. This week’s opening is designed to be a “soft opening” that will help train the staff, and not all areas of the restaurant will be available for seating, the restaurant owner said.
The barbecue offerings include ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken and brisket, and the restaurant will also offer prime rib, catfish, tilapia, shrimp and other entrees, Anderson said.
Anderson is a former Dayton-area resident who has operated restaurants in the Carolinas in recent years. He is planning a grand opening in about 45 days.
Charleston BBQ’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, call (937) 432-9576.
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Monday, April 29, 2013, 03:07 PM
DAYTON — The owners of Lily’s Bistro at 329 E. Fifth St. in the Oregon District say they’ve set a grand opening date of May 9 and may start serving as part of a “soft opening” before that date.
Initially, Lily’s Bistro — located in the former Boulevard Haus/Cafe Boulevard space — will be open for dinner only Monday through Saturday, with the bar staying open late on weekends, Lisa Mendenhall, who owns Lily’s with her husband Robert Mendenhall, said this afternoon.
The restaurant will open with 23 employees, Mendenhall said.
Plans call for expanding to lunch service on weekdays and brunch service on weekends later this year after a license to serve alcohol on Sundays is obtained, Lisa Mendenhall said. The couple also own the Blind Bob’s restaurant and music venue nearby.
The Mendenhalls’ daughter Emily Mendenhall, who worked in restaurants in Chicago and New Orleans, has returned to Dayton to serve as general manager of Lily’s Bistro. The kitchen will be overseen by Mariah Gahagan, who has worked in several prominent restaurant kitchens including Sidebar, The Winds Cafe, Coco’s Bistro and Starz at the Crowne Plaza.
Meanwhile, Harry Trubounis, general manager of Salar Restaurant and Lounge at 410 E. Fifth St. across the street from Lily’s Bistro, said this morning that Salar is very close to announcing its opening date as well. Salar is in the former Sidebar/Pacchia space.
“We’re thinking it’s going to be mid-May,” Trubounis said. “Hopefully we’re just a couple of weeks away.”
For more information about Lily’s Bistro, call (937) 723-7637.
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Monday, April 29, 2013, 06:33 AM
TROTWOOD — A new restaurant called D.Anthony’s Grille is scheduled to open Wednesday, May 1 at 5212 Salem Ave., according to Matthew Culham, the restaurant’s executive manager.
The space formerly housed Jerseyz Grill, which opened in July 2012 and closed about three months ago. Several years ago, the building housed a Bill Knapp’s restaurant.
D.Anthony’s Grille is owned by Delven Parks, who will also serve as executive chef of the new restaurant, Culham said.
The casual family restaurant will seat about 190 and will employ 15 to 20, Culham said. The menu will include burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, wings and entrees such as Chicken Florentine and New York Strip Steak. All menu items will be made from scratch in the restaurant’s kitchen, Culham said.
D.Anthony’s Grille will be open at 11 a.m. every day, and will close at midnight Sunday through Thursday and at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. For more information, call (937) 837-1497 or check out the D.Anthony’s Grille Facebook page.
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Restaurant openings
By Mark Fisher
| Friday, April 26, 2013, 06:42 AM
ENGLEWOOD — A new Japanese restaurant to be called Sakura II is coming to 852 Union Blvd.
The restaurant’s owners could not be reached, but William Singer, development director of the city of Englewood, said the city has issued a certificate of zoning compliance for the new restaurant, and has received notice that the restaurant’s owners have applied for a liquor license.
Singer said the Japanese restaurant will add diversity to the Englewood area’s dining options. “We’re excited about every new business that opens in the city,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll do well.”
The restaurant space across Union Boulevard from a Kroger Marketplace store has been occupied by multiple restaurants, including Ribs & Co. and, more recently, China Chef, Singer said.
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