Popular Dayton Oregon District restaurant plans Uptown Centerville spot

CENTERVILLE — A popular downtown Dayton restaurant chef plans to open a location in an Uptown Centerville building more than a century old.

Salar Restaurant and Lounge co-owner and executive chef Margot Blondet is joining forces with the city with an upscale food and beverage concept inspired by its French-Peruvian style “with a modern twist,” Blondet and the city have announced.

Centerville’s Uptown is a small business corridor that’s the focus of an estimated $10 million project designed to transform the historic town center in and around the intersection of North Main and Franklin streets over several years.

Blondet said the new Centerville site will have many similarities to the Oregon District fine-dining establishment on East Fifth Street.

“The two restaurants are very much like sisters,” she said. “They’re going to share the same DNA but each has its own unique style.”

The new restaurant is planned at 57 W. Franklin St., a two-story structure built in 1900, according to Montgomery County records. The amount of Salar’s investment was not disclosed.

Construction and renovation on the interior of the building began this week and will continue over the next few months with a projected completion in the fall.

Salar’s new concept will “honor the charm and integrity of the properties’ original exterior architecture while reimagining the interior for a modern, sleek dining experience,” the announcement states.

The restaurant “has a strong reputation for excellent customer service and one of the best menus in Dayton,” Centerville Mayor Brooks Compton said. “This is exactly the type of establishment city council is hoping to welcome as part of our revitalization of Uptown.”

Blondet plans to work closely with Greg Lauterback of Greg L. Lauterbach Architect LLC and Mitch Perry of Mitchell Perry Creative Inc. “to seamlessly blend the look and feel to the area’s unique, vibrant and historic community,” according to the city.

The property is 0.2 acres and was bought for $175,000 in 2006 by Mulay Holdings LLC, according to county documents.

The agent for the business is David Mulay of Centerville, state records show.

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