WEEK IN FOOD NEWS: Restaurant and bar on the move, a classic comeback and historic rebirth

Hayner Distilling Co.

A historic Troy-based distillery that also had operations in Springfield and Dayton is making a historical comeback a full century after it shut down.

The original Hayner Distilling Co. was founded in Troy in 1866 by Lewis Hayner and with the help of several family members expanded to Springfield and Dayton. In the decades that followed, the distillery evolved into a “nationally recognized and enormously profitable mail-order whiskey business,” according to the web site of the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center, which includes the Hayner Distillery Museum. Prohibition delivered the death blow to the distillery in 1920.

But on Wednesday, Hayner Distilling & Importing Inc. applied to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control for a distillery license to produce up to 100,000 gallons of spirituous liquor to sell to consumers, according to the state agency’s web site. The proposed location of the distillery is 619 Lincoln Ave., Suite 1A.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Troy’s Hayner Distillery to spring back to life 100 years after it closed

The Pine Club to reopen

The Pine Club — the iconic Dayton steakhouse that has kept its cozy dining room shuttered for months during the coronavirus pandemic even as other local fine-dining restaurants have reopened — has revealed its reopening plans, which include reduced seating capacity and distancing for dine-in service as well as expanded carryout service.

The steakhouse will reopen its dining room to the public and begin offering expanded carryout at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 29.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Here’s how — and when — The Pine Club will reopen its dining room, expand carryout

Belmont Party Supply sold

Mike Schwartz, who emerged as the Dayton area’s chief craft-beer evangelist after purchasing Belmont Party Supply in 1984, has sold the business and retired, marking the end of an era in which Schwartz earned the nickname of “The Godfather of Craft Beer.”

Schwartz operated Belmont Party Supply at 2621 S. Smithville Road for 36 years. He will retain ownership of Brewtensils, a home-brewing-supplies store adjacent to the retail beer-and-spirits store.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Dayton’s ‘Godfather of Craft Beer’ sells Belmont Party Supply

McNasty’s owner prepares to say goodbye

Dick Bell, the founder of McNasty’s food truck, shared his journey with terminal pancreatic cancer and his plans to say goodbye to his loved ones and loyal customers.

“I’m planning a party. I want to socialize with old friends and acquaintances and customers from many years ago,” he said. “I love these people, and I feel their love back.”

Bell is a fixture in the Dayton restaurant scene. Before McNasty’s was a food truck, Bell ran a tavern of the same name in the space that now houses Rip Rap Roadhouse.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: With months to live, McNasty’s food truck owner is planning a goodbye party

Crafted & Cured moving to The Arcade

After about four years in the Oregon District, Crafted & Cured has decided to move into the Dayton Arcade, joining a growing group of tenants who want to be part of the iconic complex’s resurgence.

Crafted & Cured has signed a 10-year lease to be a first-floor anchor-tenant in the arcade at 45 W. Fourth St.

The business has closed its current location at District Provisions on Wayne Avenue. It plans to reopen in its new space in 2021.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Crafted & Cured’s new home will be in iconic Dayton landmark

Grist Provisions to move downtown

Grist Provisions announced Wednesday that it will move from its current home in the District Provisions market in the Oregon District and reopen soon at 46 W. Fifth St. at South Ludlow Street in downtown Dayton, space previously occupied by Third Perk Coffeehouse & Wine Bar.

Grist Provisions — opened by Casey Van Voorhis and her husband Patrick — offers pop-up dinners and take home fine-dining caliber breads, pastas and other specialty items.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Grist Provisions moving from Oregon District to downtown Dayton

Cold-brew coffee shop coming to Fairborn

A new coffee shop called “Fifty5 Rivers Cold Brew,” founded by the husband-and-wife team of James and Lynne Mowery, will host its ribbon-cutting on July 31 and its grand opening on Aug. 1.

The shop is the first bricks-and-mortar presence for Fifty5 Rivers Cold Brew, which was founded as an online business in late 2018. It is located at 644 N. Broad St. in Fairborn. Lynne Mowery said she and her husband have been searching for a spot and purchased the Fairborn location in the summer of 2019. The new facility will process and sell ready-to-drink cold-brew coffee and tea in to-go pouches of 750 milliliters and larger, as well as cold-brew coffee-bean blends, tea pouches and kits for home brewing, Mowery said. Counter service, curbside pickup, and delivery in Fairborn and surrounding communities will be available.

>> READ COMPLETE STORY: Local husband-and-wife team launches new cold-brew coffee shop

Tank’s Bar & Grill reopening delayed

Tank’s Bar & Grill has pushed back its reopening plans to make some needed repairs, according to owner Debra Tankersley.

The popular Dayton pub at 2033 Wayne Ave. had been scheduled to reopen for curbside service on July 22, and move toward opening its dining room a couple of weeks later.

A new reopening date is not yet available.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Tank’s Bar & Grill pushes back its reopening plans

Partial to Pie vandalized again

Partial to Pie, the locally owned bakery founded by a father-daughter duo two years ago at 200 Shroyer Road at Wilmington Avenue, was vandalized again and needs “some community love” to help overcome the rash of destructive incidents, its owners said Wednesday on the bakery’s Facebook page.

A rash of vandalism over a three-week period in May included three broken windows and two broken doors, and it forced the bakery to sell whole pies and other treats out of their back door for a few days while repairs were made.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Dayton bakery pleads for ‘community love’ after vandals strike again

Five Guys coming to Huber Heights?

The franchise owner of Dayton-area Five Guys restaurants is exploring the possibility of opening a new location on Old Troy Pike in Huber Heights.

Preliminary plans have been filed with the city of Huber Heights seeking approval for the partitioning of the former TGI Fridays (and more recently, Al’s Smokehouse) at 7777 Old Troy Pike into three tenant spaces, one of which — a 2.430-square-foot section — could become a Five Guys restaurant.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Five Guys eyes potential new restaurant in Huber Heights

Golden Corrals starting to reopen

Golden Corral restaurants in the Dayton area are starting to reopen, although with a temporary tweak in their service model as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rather than serving in its customary buffet style, both of the open Dayton-area Golden Corral restaurants are serving cafeteria-style, at least for now.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: Golden Corral restaurants are starting to reopen, with a twist

New life for former IHOP restaurant

Verizon closed a store in Beavercreek to pave the way for a new restaurant — then moved into a former restaurant. But at least the move breathes new life into former restaurant space that is highly visible but which has sat vacant for a year and a half.

The Verizon store relocated from 2755 Fairfield Commons Blvd. near the Mall at Fairfield Commons to a building at 2460 N. Fairfield Road that previously housed and was built as an IHOP restaurant. That IHOP opened in October 2015 but shut down and was padlocked along with two other Miami Valley IHOP locations 18 months ago, in January 2019. It has sat vacant since.

>> READ THE COMPLETE STORY: New life for former IHOP restaurant in Beavercreek