Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Customers can expect an elevated dining experience with steaks, lambchops, red snapper, salmon and pasta on the menu.
Sides include grilled asparagus, sauteed green beans with garlic oil and three cheese mac and cheese. Soups include butternut squash and lobster bisque.
Everything will be made from scratch. They have hired a chef from Columbus that will be cooking at the restaurant full-time.
“We wanted something different from the beginning,” said Tae Winston, who owns the restaurant with her brother, Mark Lee. “There’s enough regular restaurants.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Mar’Tae Kitchen & Cocktails will have an elevated cocktail menu with drinks such as “Danger,” a smoky martini with pomegranate, vodka and rum.
The idea to open a restaurant originally started as a joke.
Winston, a local entrepreneur who is spearheading renovations at the former Salem Mall’s Sears building, was talking to the city about the lack of food options in the community when someone suggested that she should open a restaurant.
Winston and her brother have always wanted to collaborate on a project. They thought a family friendly restaurant would be a great fit.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“We could see the vision when we came to see the building,” Lee said. “It was inspiring for us to take on the journey.”
They have worked with Anthony Thomas of Universal HB Solutions to complete a total build-out of the space, which includes two private dining rooms seating about 30 people each, a bar with 15 seats and a main dining area serving up to 50 people.
Mar’Tae Kitchen & Cocktails was hoping to already be open, but they’ve been waiting on a liquor license.
The owners are most excited to feed the community and to create a space where people want to come eat and relax.
“I think Trotwood is community,” Winston said. “They show up for everyone. I do a lot in the city, but Trotwood has really believed in my vision more than anyone. They support us.”
After soft openings, Mar’Tae Kitchen & Cocktails is planning to operate 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
For more information and updates, visit the restaurant’s Facebook or Instagram (@martaekitchenandcocktails) pages.
Natalie Jones writes about food and dining in Southwest Ohio with an emphasis on the Dayton region. She may be reached at natalie.jones@coxinc.com.
OTHER PROJECTS
Winston and Lee have plans to open The Ambiance Bar & Suites at 10 N. Williams St. in Dayton.
The space will include 10 business suites with services such as teeth whitening, tattoos and skin care. There will also be a bar.
Construction is set to begin soon with plans to open within 90 days.
Winston recently opened Fashion Remedy Boutique at 1109 W. Third St. She is also the president of the Wright Dunbar Business District.
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