Local BBQ restaurant launches new ‘fly-through’ service to adapt to pandemic

Flyby BBQ in the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek is using its food truck to create a makeshift drive-through that it is calling -- yes -- a 'fly-through' service. FILE

Flyby BBQ in the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek is using its food truck to create a makeshift drive-through that it is calling -- yes -- a 'fly-through' service. FILE
What to Do
By Mark Fisher
Dec 17, 2020
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Restaurant drive-through service was surging in popularity even before the pandemic hit, and now, it’s used more than ever by those who want to minimize their contact while still satisfying their hunger.

But for many restaurants, including Flyby BBQ at the Mall at Fairfield Commons, a drive-through window is impossible because they’re surrounded on both sides by other tenants. What to do?

Flyby BBQ founder David Butcher came up with an innovative solution that is essentially a makeshift drive-through that Butcher is calling — naturally — “fly-through” service. It utilizes the mobile Flyby BBQ food truck that was the precursor to the bricks-and-mortar Flyby BBQ restaurant that opened at the Beavercreek mall in 2018.

Starting this week, Butcher is setting up his food truck in the Fairfield Commons mall main-entrance parking lot between his restaurant’s entrance and Panera Bread, and it will offer drive-through service for the next three months “at least,” Butcher said in a release.

The “fly-through” service will have a limited menu, but the offerings will include most of the restaurant’s customer favorites, including “build-your-own” macaroni bowls with choice of smoked meats or other protein options. Hot chocolate will be available for the winter season.

In-store ordering and delivery by DoorDash will still be available during Flyby BBQ’s regular hours.

Drive-through hours through the end of December will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Flyby BBQ was founded as a mobile unit in 2016 by the now-23-year-old Butcher, of Yellow Springs, while he was still in college at Ohio State University.

For more information, go to flybybbq.com

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About the Author

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.