The bar was open part of last year for Wednesday night “bike nights,” which can attract 1,000 or more motorcycle riders, and on some weekend days, while the renovation was underway. And both the restaurant side and the bar have had a “soft opening ” for a couple of months. But Wadzinski said April is the right time for the grand opening, which will include memorabilia signing by Major League Baseball hit-king Rose and a performance by McGuffey Lane.
By the time all renovations are complete, Wadzinski — a motorcycle enthusiast himself who owns and operates a software company in Beavercreek — said he will have invested about $1 million in the project, not including the $700,001 he paid for the business and seven-acre property in a court-ordered sale.
“I have a long-term vision for this place. I want it to be around a lot longer than I am,” Wadzinski said. “And I want people to take their out-of-town visitors to the Air Force museum, the Pine Club, Young’s Dairy and the Rip Rap Roadhouse.”
The restaurant and bar, located near Dayton’s border with Huber Heights, was and still is the subject of a bitter court fight when it was still Jackass Flats. The dispute entered the courtroom in November 2012, when co-owner John T. Walsh sued business partner and co-owner Terry L. Smith in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Smith, who had actively managed the bar’s operations through late 2013, countersued.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary K. Huffman ruled in favor of Walsh, and a three-judge panel of the Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals affirmed Huffman’s decision, sending the bar into receivership and putting it up for sale. Smith’s attorney, Gary Leppla, is still challenging some aspects of the case, as is a former manager of the bar who worked for the court-appointed receiver. But the bar, restaurant and property surrounding it were sold via a court order in September 2014, and Wadzinski was the highest bidder for the property.
Even with the unadvertised opening in recent weeks, Rip Rap Roadhouse is starting to attract diners who come for the broasted chicken, gumbo, smoked chicken and pulled pork and cole slaw, Wadzinski said. The restaurant side of the business is filled with antique signage and pictures rather than motorcycle-themed items, although the bar areas include two vintage cycles, one from 1920 and another from 1937, both produced by what was then called the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company.
“This isn’t a biker bar, but it’s extremely biker-friendly,” Wadzinski said. “A lot of families are coming in here for dinner.”
Long-term plans call for building a separate ice cream shop to be called the “Rip Rap Shake Shack” adjacent to the restaurant, Wadzinski said.
The restaurant and bar are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, and is open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday. For more information, call (937) 236-4329 or check out the Rip Rap Roadhouse Facebook page.
>>>>Related coverage: Jackass Flats has new owner after bitter court fight
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