Downtown Dayton losing 3 businesses

By Natalie Jones

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

It’s been a rough week for the downtown Dayton dining scene, as three local businesses announced they were closing their doors.

The latest was Basil’s on Market, which closed on Aug. 20.

The restaurant at 312 N. Patterson Blvd., which overlooked the Great Miami River, was known for its all-you-can-eat Friday night crab special has closed its doors.

Basil’s on Market closed for a variety of reasons including short-staffing and rising costs, according to co-owner Jeff Finkelstein. “When the pandemic hit, we were never able to recover,” he said.

Two establishments on Wayne Avenue also announced they are closing: Reza’s coffee shop and The Sugar Guild.

Reza’s will soon close the downtown coffee shop, but will continue roasting in the space, according to a sign posted at the business.

“Despite the many loyal customers who frequent this cafe, and despite the talented and hard-working baristas who work here, this cafe is just not sustainable. It has not been since Covid,” the owners of Reza’s Downtown wrote in a message to their customers.

The owners said they will continue operating their Beavercreek coffee shop at 1474 N. Fairfield Road and described business as “thriving.” Reza’s will continue their wholesale business as well.

And sadly, a downtown Dayton restaurant serving breakfast and brunch on the weekends has closed.

The Sugar Guild will be closing. We will not open this weekend,” said a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page Aug. 23. “This is both heartbreaking and unexpected. Not sure what the future holds, but we know it’s not over. TY (Thank you) Dayton.”

The Sugar Guild featured wood-fired ham and cheese omelettes, bubble waffles, French toast, gluten free biscuits and gravy and much more.


Miami Valley loses a restaurant legend

Roger Glass, president and chief executive of Marion’s Piazza, died Wednesday. He was 79 years old.

Glass — president and CEO of Marion’s for 16 years and an employee of the family-owned company for five decades — was the second-generation owner of Marion’s. His father, Marion Glass, founded the business in 1965.

We spoke with Glass just a few weeks ago about our annual Best of Dayton contest. Marion’s Piazza won Best Pizza Restaurant, Best Restaurant for a Large Group and Best Square-Cut Pizza in last year’s contest.

“It’s always an honor and we feel very privileged to win like we do,” he told us. “We’ve been in business for 57 years and we have a lot of loyal customers. We’re very thankful for them because without them we wouldn’t be around.”

We’ll miss Roger Glass, who contributed so much to our community. Read more about his life here.


Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

Quick bites

🍕 It all starts with dough: Isiah Davis, owner of The Cookieologist, is expanding his talents to gourmet, focaccia-style pizza this weekend. Find out how you can pre-order here.

🍔 What a burger: Koji Burger, tested and developed during the Miami Valley Restaurant Association’s restaurant week, is returning to Jollity in downtown Dayton via pop-up this month.

🍽️ Old school cooking: Ms. Betty’s Kitchen LLC, a new restaurant specializing in soul and comfort food, is now open in Moraine. “We cut and slice our sweet potatoes. We cut our cabbage. We do our greens. We do everything from scratch,” owner Steven Champion told us.