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Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2009 > May > 20
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Fellow restaurateurs mourn the death of Jay’s Restaurant founder Jay Haverstick
Here’s a copy of a story scheduled to be published in Thursday’s Dayton Daily News:
At a luncheon in February 2006 celebrating Jay’s Restaurant’s 30th anniversary, founder Jay Haverstick reminisced about his days managing the old Yankee Tavern near Centerville back in the mid-1970s, when he first began scouting out the property in downtown Dayton’s shadow that he would turn into his namesake restaurant.
“I would come down here to walk around, and I saw a lot of very interesting people,” Mr. Haverstick said. “They didn’t dress like I did. They sure didn’t drink what I drank. Some of them didn’t have homes to go home to.”
His customers at the suburban Yankee Tavern “told me I was crazy” for relocating to the city’s core, Mr. Haverstick said. And there were times when he wondered whether the doubters had been right. “They told me if you build it they will come, but there were a few days when I thought to myself, when the heck are they going to get here?”
The restaurant erupted in laughter, and Mr. Haverstick grinned broadly. In fact, the customers did come, and Jay’s evolved into one of Dayton’s premier restaurants and an anchor in the Oregon Historic District.
The news that Mr. Haverstick was found dead Wednesday, May 20, in Death Valley National Park, where he was taking photographs, left the Miami Valley’s restaurant and wine community, and his many other friends and acquaintances, stunned.
“Jay was an important part of the fabric of the restaurant community in Dayton,” said David Hulme, owner of the Pine Club restaurant who has known Mr. Haverstick for four decades and attended Jay’s Restaurant’s opening night in 1976.
“He was a passionate guy — Jay was not one to hold back his opinion — and he was always an outspoken proponent for the community and for the restaurant owners,” Hulme said. “I was always impressed by his commitment to the community.”
Every holiday season for the last several years, Mr. Haverstick has opened the doors of his restaurant to the homeless or economically disadvantaged and serve a free dinner of fried chicken, ham, mashed potatos and green beans. A local church helped collect donated clothes and toys to be handed out at the dinner. Last Christmas, nearly 500 people attended, according to Jay’s Restaurant sommelier and long-time employee Joe Daniel.
Oakwood Club restaurant owner Lance Stewart said Mr. Haverstick was “someone we could all look up to as restaurateurs.”
Stewart recalled when his father died suddenly 18 years ago, he was thrust into the unfamiliar role of sole ownership of the Oakwood Club.
“Jay Haverstick was the first person to come to me and offer his help,” Stewart said. “I will always remember that.”
Josef Reif, owner of l’Auberge, said Mr. Haverstick, wife Idy and daughter Amy Haverstick came in for dinner at his Kettering restaurant last week, shortly after Mr. Haverstick’s 69th birthday on May 8. The longtime friends have cultivated a tradition of having dinner in each other’s restaurant around their birthdays, Reif said.
“He was proud of Dayton, and he loved Dayton,” Reif said. “He was always there, always helping his employees and friends. And he was always dedicated to his restaurant, seven days a week.
“We always chatted about wine and food, and he was passionate about both. It was a great friendship.”
Mr. Haverstick apparently was making new friends a week before he died. David Vasconez of Oakwood said on Wednesday that he sat in front of Mr. Haverstick on a Dayton-to-Chicago flight May 12 and listened to him talk about his excitement around his upcoming trip with an old college buddy. He said he introduced himself to Mr. Haverstick, and the two discussed the best way to cook swordfish.
After he read the stories on daytondailynews.com Wednesday about Mr. Haverstick first reported missing and later being found deceased, “I was floored. Vasconez said. “I just got chills.”
The restaurant was closed Wednesday but is expected to reopen at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Mr. Haverstick is survived by his wife Idy; brothers Ned and Kim, both of Dayton; daughter Amy Haverstick; and son Joseph and daughter-in-law Rebecca Haverstick of suburban Cleveland, and two grandchildren.
Funeral arrangement are pending.
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TweetJay’s restaurant owner Jay Haverstick found dead in Death Valley
NOTE: This story was updated at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, May 20.
Jay’s Restaurant founder Jay Haverstick was found dead Wednesday, May 20, in Death Valley National Park, 1 1/2 miles from his car and 1/2 mile from a ranger station, according to park spokesman Terry Baldino.
Mr. Haverstick was visiting the park with a college friend, but he went out alone at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, apparently to shoot photographs of the large sand dunes near the park’s center in the morning light.
It is not clear when or how Mr. Haverstick died, Baldino said. The Inyo County Coroner will perform an autopsy.
The park spokesman said it appeared Mr. Haverstick was headed toward the ranger station, since the station was visible from where his body was found, but his car was not. Temperatures on Tuesday reached 112 degrees, and it was a windy day with blowing sand, Baldino said.
Park employees and other rescue personnel, aided by a California Highway Patrol helicopter, searched for Mr. Haverstick Tuesday afternoon and resumed the search Wednesday morning, Baldino said. His body was found at about 12:45 p.m. Ohio time.
Mr. Haverstick, 69, was an avid photographer and specialized in outdoor photography. In recent years, he published a calendar spotlighting his shots and made the calendars available to guests at his namesake restaurant at 225 E. Sixth St. in Dayton’s Oregon Historic District. In fact, the cover of the 2009 calendar is a photo of the sand dunes in Death Valley, taken in early morning light.
Mr. Haverstick’s wife, Idy, and his daughter, Amy, flew to Death Valley National Park Wednesday morning.
David Vasconez of Oakwood said on Wednesday that he sat in front of Mr. Haverstick on a Dayton-to-Chicago flight last week and listened to him talk about his excitement of his upcoming trip with an old college buddy. He said he introduced himself to Mr. Haverstick and talked about the best way to cook swordfish.
“I was floored. I just got chills,” said Vasconez, after he read the stories online Wednesday about Mr. Haverstick first reported missing and later being found deceased.
Jay’s restaurant was closed Wednesday night but is expected to reopen at 5 p.m. Thursday.
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TweetFree kids’ sundae bar tonight at Tim Horton’s/Cold Stone
Looks like a decent little restaurant promotion/giveaway from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight in Xenia. Here’s a copy of the news release sent to the Dayton Daily News:
WHO: Tim Hortons & Cold Stone Creamery
WHAT: Grand Opening Event
WHERE: 38 N. Orange Street
WHEN: Wednesday, May 20 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
WHY: For and good cause and get FREE goodies!
FREE make your own sundae bar for kids 12 and under
10% of all ice cream purchases will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana
First 50 customers will receive a FREE Gift Bag full of Tim Hortons & Cold Stone Goodies
Everyone will be eligible to win FREE Like-it creation certificates
Everyone can sample FREE signature creations, signature cakes and smoothies
Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery to Donate Proceeds from Grand Opening to Make-A-Wish Foundation
May 20, 2009- Xenia OH - Tim Hortons is pleased to welcome Cold Stone Creamery, America’s new favorite ice cream destination, to its 38 N. Orange Street location. To celebrate the opening, Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery are joining efforts with the Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Greater Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. The celebration will provide the foundation with funding to help make a child’s most heartfelt wish a reality.
The community is invited to join the grand opening wish celebration on Wednesday, May 20 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM where there will be a FREE make your own sundae bar for kids 12 and under, the first 50 customers will receive a FREE Gift Bag full of Tim Hortons & Cold Stone Goodies as well as FREE samples of signature creations, signature cakes and smoothies. Also, everyone is eligible to win FREE Like-It Creation certificates! During the Grand Opening Week of May 20 to May 27, 5% of all ice cream purchases will benefit the local Make-A-Wish Chapter.
“Cold Stone Creamery has a long-standing relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery support and value the same thing, which includes family, children, and lots of smiles,” says David Cropper, Tim Hortons store owner. “I can’t think of a better partnership than celebrating life with sweets, treats and wishes.”
The new store will offer Tim Hortons menu items including, Always Fresh coffee, fresh baked goods, flavored cappuccinos, specialty teas, home-style soups and fresh sandwiches along with Cold Stone Creamery’s super-premium ice cream, cakes, shakes and smoothies. Customers can enjoy the complementary menus, variety and convenience.
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