Kettering ice cream store to close, sandwich shop to relocate

KETTERING — The Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in the Town & Country Shopping Center will close Friday, April 12, and the W.g. Grinders sandwich shop that it shares space with will close the same day but is scheduled to reopen Monday, April 15 across Far Hills Avenue at 10 W. Stroop Road.

Jim Powers of Kettering, who owns both franchises, said Tuesday that the new sandwich shop will be called W.g. Grinder’s Catering and Carryout to reflect a shift in focus to catering and pickup orders. The shop will accept online orders and will deliver with a $50 minimum order.

The space that Powers’ restaurant is departing is 2,500 square feet. The new location is about 1,500 square feet, and, “There’s no way we could make Baskin-Robbins work over there,” Powers said. The new space in the Castle Hills shopping center formerly held Mama Mimi’s pizza, which closed in February 2011.

The Stroop Road location has “fantastic visibility,” and its layout is a good fit for the Grinder’s carryout concept, Powers said.

The shop has eight to 10 employees, and Powers said he does not expect employment to drop after the move. “I expect our volume to increase over there, even without Baskin-Robbins,” he said.

The W.g. Grinder’s franchise has operated for 13 years in Town & Country, and the Baskin-Robbins franchise was added four years ago. Lewis Center-based W.g. Grinders operates 21 sandwich shops, 18 of which are in Ohio.

The new sandwich shop will keep the existing W.g. Grinder’s phone number: (937) 294-3663.

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