The lease was up at the Arepas restaurant at 1122 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering, and a decision was made to close the location, in part because of medical issues in the family that owns and operates Arepas, the manager said.
The Kettering space, set back from the road and tucked in behind another business, had earned a reputation as a graveyard of restaurants of sorts prior to the arrival of Arepas, which survived there for nearly six years, considerably longer than its predecessors.
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The closure comes less than three months after another Arepas location on State Route 725 in Washington Twp., which had opened in June 2017, also shut down. At that time, Arepas & Co co-founder Lisa Perdomo said family medical issues led to the decision to close. Efforts to reach Perdomo Wednesday and this morning were unsuccessful.
The Arepas restaurant in the former Wympee building on East Third Street at Wayne Avenue in downtown Dayton was open and operating Wednesday, and its manager said the owners would “re-launch” and focus efforts on that location in the coming days and weeks.
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The Perdomos opened their first location inside the Second Street Market in downtown Dayton in 2012, using the market as an incubator and a springboard to open free-standing locations. They opened what was then their second location in March 2014 at 1122 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering. Another Arepas opened in the former Olive Urban Dive space at 416 E. Third St. in downtown Dayton in January 2016.
The couple shut down their Second Street Market food booth in September 2017, shortly after opening the Washington Twp. restaurant.
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No fewer than six restaurants tried and failed in the East Dorothy Lane space in the few years prior to Arepas & Co’s arrival in early 2014.
Arepas & Co specializes in comfort foods from different regions of Colombia, South America, including Arepas, Empanadas, Mazorca, Yuca Fries, and Choclo.
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