DAYTON EATS: Looking back at the year in food

When it comes to dining and our region’s restaurant scene, there is a lot to be thankful for as the calendar turns over to a new year.

Here is a list of some of the moments, places and people I was thankful for in 2022 with hopes for even more to come in 2023.

Passing the torch

In 2022 plenty of restaurants closed, but there were many notable ones that managed to stay open as they changed hands in 2022.

Ha Ha Pizza in Yellow Springs (www.facebook.com/hahapizzays) sold over the summer to mother and daughter Karen and Megan McDonald. The much beloved Voltzy’s Rootbeer Stand (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063737435479) was taken over by Sammy Bowman who was intent on honoring and preserving the business that previous owner Ric Voltz built from the ground up. Voltz died in early 2011, but Bowman is dedicated to continuing the business and those delicious recipes alive. She is currently operating out of Action Sports at 103 Gateway Drive in Dayton and is working to renovate the last trailer Voltz used before going into his brick-and-mortar location.

In addition, George’s Family Restaurant (www.georgesdayton.com), a small, dependable mom and pop location, has been open since 1994. The restaurant, located at 5216 N. Dixie Drive, Dayton, sold at the end of August to Steve Socrates and his girlfriend, Samantha McFarland. Transition also happened with iconic well-known restaurants that have been a fabric of the community. On June 10 the Oakwood Club sold after 60 years of being independently owned and operated. The One Esca Group, a restaurant management company based in Dallas, Texas that also owns Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Dayton and Corner Kitchen in the Oregon District, purchased the well-known destination at 2414 Far Hills Avenue this summer.

I have loved the fact that restaurants have found ways over this last year to pass the torch to new owners who can keep these wonderful businesses operating and playing their important roles in our local dining scene. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new owners do and continuing to support these fantastic businesses.

Expansions

Old Scratch Pizza (www.oldscratchpizza.com) is a continued blessing since it first opened its doors in 2016. Just six years later owners Eric and Stephanie Soller announced they will be opening their fourth location in the former Troy Fire Department Station by summer. Old Scratch’s original home is at 812 S. Patterson Boulevard in Dayton and is also located at 440 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Centerville. A third location at 2450 Dayton Xenia Road in Beavercreek is expected to open in the early part of this year within the building that previously housed The Wellington Grille. As far as I’m concerned, the more of their wood-fired pizzas and delicious salads the better.

Warped Wing Brewing Company (www.warpedwing.com) is also in expansion mode with a new brewery and taproom set to open sometime this summer in Huber Heights near the Rose Music Center. Like Old Scratch this will be the fourth location for the brewing company that continues to innovate and impress with its terrific beers and dining program. The new location will seat nearly 300 featuring a large tap room, outdoor biergarten, private event space and production space and small brewing system. Like other locations the food will be focused on smoked meats and dishes. Warped Wing currently has locations at 26 Wyandot St. in Dayton, 25 Wright Station Way in Springboro and 5650 Tylersville Rd. in Mason.

I love seeing strong businesses like these with smart, visionary owners continuing to find investors that know the strength and quality of their products. It’s great that these businesses continue to expand their already impressive footprints.

Exciting new openings

There were so many restaurant openings in 2022 that could fill more than several columns with details, but there are a handful I found particularly exciting.

Gulzar’s Indian Cuisine (www.gulzarsindiancuisine.com) is the first Indian restaurant to open in downtown Dayton. The location across from Day Air Ballpark has a nice buffet during the lunch hour if you are looking to take it for a spin. It’s so exciting to have this option as part of the downtown landscape as it expands and caters to so many new downtown residents.

Not far away at 416 E. First St. is the hugely impressive Moeller Brew Barn brewery that opened in 2022 (www.moellerbrewbarn.com) boasting three massive bars with more than 70 taps ready to pour a pint. The 3,900-square-foot patio is massive and gives a sense of the scale of this incredible addition to the downtown landscape. It is sure to be the place to hang out before, during and after Dayton Dragons baseball games.

W. Social Tap and Table (westsocialtapandtable.com) is Dayton’s first food hall that opened in the Wright-Dunbar District at 1100 W. Third St. over the summer. The former conference center location now houses a large bar with five independent businesses surrounding it serving up a variety of dishes. De’Lish, The Lumpia Queen, SOCA, ILLYS Fire Pizza and Taco Street Co. are the food purveyors ready to serve you in this exciting new venture.

I’ll be keeping my eye on what happens at District Market (https://www.facebook.com/DistrictMarketDayton), which just opened at 200 Wayne Ave. in the Oregon District. This new concept by Tae Winston is a food business incubator that exists to help businesses grow their food business to take it to the next level.

Coming soon

There are plenty of restaurants in the process of getting opened, but none as exciting to me as the businesses at the Dayton Arcade. As the Arcade continues to develop and come along there was an announcement from Cross Street Partners sharing that an Italian restaurant, Est! Est!! Est!!!, will open this spring at 45 W. Fourth St. in the Arcade’s Commercial and Fourth Street buildings helmed by Chef Simone Conosciani of Rome, Italy. Brick oven pizzas, handmade pastas and other authentic Italian dishes will be featured on the menu. This new restaurant will join Gather by Ghostlight, Table 33 and 6888 Kitchen (www.arcadedayton.com/discover-the-arcade) that have all committed to spots in the south Arcade.

More in-person and new events

In 2021 many outdoor events continued to be virtual, scaled back or pick-up only. This year major events like the Dayton Greek Festival (www.daytongreekfestival.com) and Greater Dayton Lebanese Festival (www.thelebanesefestival.com) returned to the events we knew and loved prior to the pandemic. The food, the music, the performances, the history, it was all there and so wonderful to be able to be enjoyed on location in-person.

A variety of new events also shaped the year.

Fun new festivals included Miami Valley Restaurant Association’s (MVRA) Pickle Fest — Just Dill With It! at Austin Landing. The inaugural event took place on June 25 and was a resounding success. An estimated 20,000 pickle lovers showed up to celebrate the wonderful crunchy tart magic that happens when a cucumber takes a long relaxing soak in a briney vinegar bath. The event featured 17 food vendors and five pickle companies from around the state, with the majority of vendors selling out before the event had wrapped. MVRA also put on Taco & Nacho Fest on Aug. 27 at Austin Landing for the first time this year.

Yellow Cab Tavern (https://www.yellowcabtavern.com/) planned and executed several major first-time festivals including Mac and Cheese Fest, Birria Fest and Soup Fest. Yellow Cab is a crew that continues to innovate and grow what our dining scene is while exploring the possibilities of what it could become. I love their collaboration and the fun they bring to what they do.

Talented, passionate local chefs

Earlier in October some of the top chefs in the Miami Valley came together to create a first-time seven course dinner experience together under the description “Dayton Chefs United.”

The event was created by the chefs to raise funds for a career Miami Valley restaurant professional who, because of sudden and long-term physical health issues, found themselves in need of financial help.

The restaurant professional in question was not named, but that wasn’t the point. The focus on the Oct. 9 event at Meadowlark Restaurant was chefs coming together to create great food benefiting a worthy cause.

The group called themselves “Dayton Chefs United” at the event, and it was clear throughout the evening that they were united and enjoying every minute of creating something so special together. The seven chefs brought creativity and passion to the table and plates of the 150 people who were lucky enough to purchase a ticket before it sold out shortly after going live. Chef Liz Valenti of Wheat Penny Oven and Bar, Chef Adrian Madrigal of Loose Ends Brewing Co, Chef Dave Rawson of Meadowlark, Chef Zack Weiner of Jollity, Chef Dana Downs of Roost Modern Italian, Chef Maria Walusis of Watermark and Chef Margot Blondet of Salar not only made delicious courses, but as Chef Elizabeth Wiley announced, it would be the first of many “Dayton Chefs United” meals to come that will benefit good causes.

Wiley acknowledged she wasn’t sure how frequently it would be but shared they plan to at least make it a yearly event. I loved this event so much and enjoyed the food every bit as much as I enjoyed the display of heart and caring they delivered with each course.

In that same passionate vein I was able to watch Katy Evans, executive chef at Coldwater Cafe in Tipp City (https://coldwatercafe.com), walk away with top honors from the first Diced in Dayton Chef’s Challenge. Evans was among 11 area chefs who joined forces to raise money for Miami Valley Meals (https://miamivalleymeals.org), a program that helps prepare meals for those serving the hungry in the region.

That evening was such a reminder to never take restaurants and the talented kitchen staff for granted. Evans had not been on my radar and I hadn’t been in a while to the restaurant she was representing, long a favorite of mine. It’s easy to forget how special a place is when they make it look so easy.

And speaking of local chefs making it look easy, Chef Elizabeth Valenti, executive chef and partner at Wheat Penny Oven and Bar (www.wheatpennydayton.com), continues to rack up awards and honors.

Earlier last year she attended the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, competing in the International Italian Sandwich Competition and took home second place.

“I’m very proud of that and it’s a big well-deserved pat on the back for all of us,” she said in a video she posted on Wheat Penny’s Facebook page after arriving home.

This win gets added to her “Nourishing the Community Award” she won in 2021 from the Ohio Restaurant Association where she was honored with 11 other restaurants.

The Nourishing the Community Award “recognizes an individual or organization for their outstanding contributions through community service or charitable involvement.”

Last year had so many highlights in the local restaurant scene, but there is so much yet to come in the year ahead. There will be closings and there will be turmoil certainly, but just like 2022 there will be exciting additions, expansions, innovations, passionate cooking and big-hearted food events. I can’t wait to see and taste what’s to come.

Dayton Eats looks at the regional food stories and restaurant news that make mouths water. Share info about your menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes and culinary adventures. Do you know of exciting outdoor spaces, new exciting format changes, specials, happy hours, restaurant updates or any other tasty news you think is worth a closer look at? E-mail Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.