BEST OF DAYTON: The 3 best coffee shops to try in Dayton

Rise and shine! Don’t wake up with just any cup of coffee.

Treat yourself to the BEST local brew Dayton has to offer.

These are the top three places to grab coffee in Dayton, as voted on by the community in Dayton.com’s Best of Dayton 2019-20 contest.

>> BEST OF DAYTON: Complete list of winners

🥇WINNER: GHOSTLIGHT COFFEE

South Park: 1201 Wayne Ave., Dayton | Midtown: 800 S. Patterson Blvd. | Website | Facebook

Ghostlight Coffee, four-time Best of Dayton Best Coffeehouse winner, opened its first location in Dayton's South Park neighborhood on Nov. 14, 2011.

Shane Anderson says the community has wholeheartedly embraced what he and his staff are working to do in bringing new flavor profiles and options to coffee cups across the Dayton community.

>> Daytonians of the Week: Shane Anderson and Lezley Pison of Ghostlight Coffee

“What I thought would be the South Park neighborhood coffeehouse quickly turned into a great gathering place for the whole city. I am so grateful to the people of this city for their continued support of our shop,” he said.

Credit: Allegra Czerwinski

There’s always something brewing at Ghostlight it seems — figuratively and literally. The coffee shop continues to expand its breakfast offerings and has launched a coffee mobile truck that serves coffee, tea, iced coffee and an assortment of cookies, muffins and other baked goods from Ghostlight’s bakery. Ghostlight offers catering services as well. Their pies are pretty incredible, if you ask us.

Ghostlight opened its second location on Patterson Boulevard in November 2019.

>> Ghostlight Coffee’s second location is now open

🥉2ND PLACE: Winans Chocolates + Coffees

Multiple Dayton-area locations | Website | Facebook

Piqua-based Winans traces its roots to the late 1800s, and is now under the fourth generation of family ownership of Joe Reiser and Laurie Winans Reiser. Winans has 18 stores, including in the Dayton area, Columbus and Wapakoneta.

Winans brings in both chocolate and coffee beans directly from producers in Central America, and is a “bean-to-cup” coffee producer.

>> 7 things you need to know about Winans Chocolates + Coffees

But the business originally focused on its chocolates. Some of its signature collection includes Buckeyes, Bourbon Cherries and Cherry Cordials.

>> Winans is an official stop on the Ohio Buckeye Candy Trail

>> The best places to get chocolate in Dayton

When Joe Reiser, a self-described coffee addict, added coffee to the chocolate shop in 1994, his father-in-law and former owner of the business declared, “It will never work.” today, coffee accounts for 50 percent of Winans’ business.

The Winans Easter line includes a three-foot-tall, 20-pound chocolate Easter bunny that sells for about $200. Really!

>> Local chocolate shop wins national award (2017)

🥈3RD PLACE: Boston Stoker

Multiple Dayton-area locations | Website | Facebook

Boston Stoker recently celebrated its 45th anniversary as one of Ohio’s leading and longest running independent coffee roasters since 1973.

“The business of coffee has changed a lot in 45 years and though we have too by developing direct relationships with farmers and expanding our sourcing, our commitment to delivering the best roast on the best beans has remained constant,” said Henry Dean, president of Boston Stoker.

The local coffee chain offers a number of single origin coffees.

>> 4 ways that Dayton’s local coffee scene is growing

Boston Stoker was founded in Englewood in 1973 by Don and Sally Dean as a pipe and tobacco shop. As a strategy to build their customer base in a new business, the Deans started offering free, freshly brewed specialty coffee to customers while they shopped, according to the company’s web site.

The demand began to grow to buy the coffee to take it home, eventually leading Boston Stoker into the specialty coffee industry.

“An independent business like our’s doesn’t last as long as it has without great customers, and we’re excited to mark the milestone with all of you,” Dean said

>> Boston Stoker now serving breakfast sandwiches at all of its coffee shops