Kettering restaurant is sold to two of its customers

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The new owners of Christopher’s Restaurant & Catering are Dave and Erika Krites of Centerville, who have been recent customers of the restaurant.

“My wife and I started coming here to eat about three months ago,” Dave Krites said. “We ate here 12 to 15 times. We loved being there, and we always felt like we were at home there.”

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Krites has held high level positions at two national companies in the food-service equipment industry, but said he had recently stepped away from the corporate world, in part because his position required being away from his wife throughout the week. He said he had been looking to purchase a small business, but wasn’t really looking to own a restaurant — until he discovered that Christopher’s was for sale.

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The deal was finalized July 4. Pritchard is staying on for a while to ensure what both men describe as a “seamless transition.”

Krites said he plans no significant changes at the restaurant, especially in its concept, menu, and atmosphere.

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“Chip did a great job establishing the culture here, and I hope to continue to build on that,” Krites said.

The restaurant and catering business has 55 employees, and Krites said he and Pritchard met with them a month ago.

“They had questions about what changes I would make to the restaurant,” Krites said. “I told them, ‘I appreciate your concern, but if I had plans to make a bunch of changes, I wouldn’t have bought Christopher’s.’”

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Pritchard founded the restaurant at 2318 E. Dorothy Lane with his wife Sherri 28 years ago, and expanded it into adjacent Woodman Plaza tenant space four years later.

“We’ve been experiencing nice, steady growth on both sides of the business, restaurant and catering,” Pritchard said. “I am just enormously grateful for the support we’ve received from the community.”

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Christopher’s serves breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with hours of 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and is closed on  Sundays.