Ben Dodson, who works in pharmaceutical sales and intends to continue in that career, said he served as an original manager of the Fricker’s sports bar on Woodman Drive in Riverside from 1988 to 1995, when he returned to school.
Shawn Dodson, who has worked at Geez Grill & Pub in Washington Twp. for 21 years, will oversee the day-to-day operations of Bennett’s Publical with two other managers, Ben Dodson said. The new business will employ 45 to 50 people.
The new sports grill could open by mid-to-late August, Dodson said. It will seat about 80 in the dining room, an additional 40 in the bar, and 50 on its patio. Two banquet or special-events rooms also will be available. The food menu will include pizza, wings and salads, as well as “some dishes from my mom’s homemade recipes,” Dodson said.
The property and multi-story building, built in 1920, was purchased by the Dodsons’ LLC on July 1 for $490,000, according to Montgomery County property records.
Chris Fine, Miamisburg’s director of economic development, called the former Anticoli’s Giuliano “a key building along Main Street,” and said the new restaurant “will be a great addition to downtown.”
Dodson — whose father, Dr. Verne Dodson, has served the Miamisburg community for nearly 50 years as a family physician — said, “We’ve been looking for the perfect location for 15 to 20 years, and this is it.”
Anticoli’s Giuliano Tavern, which opened in 2011, closed its doors on June 7 after 80-year-old owner Leo Anticoli retired.
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