Restaurant news: 8 coming to Dayton area, 4 now open, 2 closed

With a new year comes new places to eat in the Dayton area.

The Dayton area restaurant scene has had some changes over the month of December, with more promised for 2017.

Here’s what you need to know about restaurants that are either coming, going or are new to the region.

Coming soon:

Lock 27 Brewing

The former “Delco Building” at 329 E. First St. in downtown Dayton is being transformed into Lock 27 Brewing’s second brewery and pub restaurant.

The new brewery is expected to open in mid-2017, hopefully in time for the beginning of the Dayton Dragons’ baseball season.

Chick-fil-A

A spokeswoman announced on Monday that both the Chick-fil-A at the Town & County Shopping Center in Kettering and West Main Street in Troy are scheduled to open Jan. 19.

The Kettering restaurant at East Stroop and Shroyer roads will be able to seat 124 inside, employ at least 80 and offer drive-through services, according to franchise owner Matt Eller.

Troy’s new Chick-fil-A at 1910 W. Main St. will be able to seat 106 and employ 80 to 90 people.

Submarine House

The new Submarine House bar and grill is projecting a Jan. 9 opening date at 503 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in the Normandy Square Shopping Center, according to Jeremy McDaniel, the franchisee for the sports bar.

The space has been empty for several years, previously housing a Blockbuster Video.

This Submarine House will be able to seat 160 people and employ about 40 – the sports bar is hiring “all positions,” McDaniel said.

Wat da Pho

A family-owned Vietnamese restaurant is moving near the Mall at Fairfield Commons and Wright State University sometime in mid-January at 3464 Pentagon Blvd.

The restaurant will be able to seat 53 and serve a variety of Vietnamese specialties, including the traditional noodle soup, sandwiches and rice dishes.

Barry Bagels

The Barry Bagels restaurant is coming to the Miami Valley possibly sometime in March at 4313 Far Hills Ave. in Kettering.

“We are working closely with our architect and general contractor to add the finishing touches to our layout and design,” said Cody Klueter, who is joined by Eric and Jennifer Fester as franchisees for the restaurant. “Construction will begin shortly, and we are eagerly anticipating a March opening date.”

The future Barry Bagels will be 1,800-square-feet and will serve bagels and bagel sandwiches, along with soups and salads.

Gyro King

According to a sign that greets shoppers and diners at the Mall of Fairfield Commons, the Gyro King is “coming soon” to the food-court space that used to house Designer Dogs.

Designer Dogs shut down in September after only being in business at the mall for nine months.

IHOP

The International House of Pancakes is bringing 260 jobs to the area by adding two locations in the Dayton area.

According to IHOP officials, they will open one location in Butler Twp. and another in Huber Heights in the first half of 2017.

The Huber Heights location will be at 7611 Old Troy Pike, according to city records and the Butler Twp. location will be at 3320 Benchwood Road.

El Rancho Grande

The Cincinnati-based Mexican restaurant chain, El Rancho Grande is gearing up to open two new Dayton-area restaurants.

El Rancho Grande purchased the former Applebee’s restaurant at 1450 W. Dorothy Lane near South Dixie Drive with plans to open sometime in early 2017.

The Mexican chain also leased the former LaRosa’s at 7375 Old Troy Pike in Huber Heights and will possibly be open by mid-March.

New:

El Toro

The Dayton-based chain of Mexican restaurants, El Toro Bar & Grill, opened its 12th location in the region Friday, Dec. 30, at 710 Gardner Road off Springboro Pike.

El Toro officials just finalized a 10-year lease in August for the space that previously housed a Max & Erma’s restaurant.

“Springboro is a great area,” El Toro District Manager Enrique Alvarez said in August. “We are a family-owned local chain trying to cover the Dayton market so we can be the number one choice for local residents when they choose a Mexican restaurant.”

Rapid Fire Pizza

The newest Rapid Fire Pizza came to Kettering this week with a bang: free individual-sized pizzas to each customer on Friday. Dec. 30, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until supplies are exhausted.

This pizza place, which is located at 2001 E. Dorothy Lane, will be able to seat about 80 and employ 20 to 30.

According to Rapid Fire Pizza’s founders, plans call for having as many as 25 locations open by mid-2017.

D20: A Bar with Characters

The new D20: A Bar with Characters opened to the public on Dec. 19, at 2144 E. Whipp Road in the Oak Creek Plaza.

The founders wanted to offer their customers something different.

“We decided to not have any TVs in here. We feel our generation is not very good at communicating, so we want people to talk to each other, talk to strangers,” Andrew Sparks, co-founder of the bar with Christine Cooper, said. “That’s partly why we’re not doing video games — we’re doing board games instead.”

KupBop - Korean Well Being Food

A new Asian restaurant, KupBop – Korean Well Being Food opened its doors on Dec. 12 at 3011 Woodman Drive in the Kettering Towne Center in Kettering.

KupBop seats about 30 people and has hours from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed Sunday.

Closed:

Osaka Sushi & Hibachi Buffet

A hand-written sign that said “Sorry We are Closed” was on the door of the Osaka Sushi & Hibachi Buffet restaurant at 8901 Kingsbridge Drive on Dec. 22.

DT’s Kitchen

The take-out restaurant DT’s Kitchen at 2920 Wayne Ave. appears to have closed.

When and why is unclear, however, customers noted little to no activity in mid-November.

Attempts to contact the owner were unsuccessful.

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