The husband-and-wife team of Steve and Sherri Zelen purchased the Green Lantern and the surrounding three-acre property in 2019. The business had its “soft opening” in July.
“We’re getting such a great, warm reception from the community,” Sherri Zelen said when the bar and restaurant first opened its doors. “Everyone is so happy we opened this place back up. One man was in tears because he remembered his parents used to bring him here to the Green Lantern when he was a child.”
The former Green Lantern traces its history back more than a century, and it has served as a local watering hole for many decades just north of the Dayton city limits. Its former owner, Marge Belme, died in April 2018, and the bar had been shuttered for several months when the Zelens purchased it.
The new restaurant’s sales are equally split between the bar and the pizza-making operation, Sherri Zelen said. The bar has 12 taps, including domestic and craft brews. Signature cocktails, spirits and wine are available. Patio seating also is available, as are outdoor cornhole games. There are dart boards inside.
Steve Zelen has operated pizza restaurants in Florida before coming to Ohio, and has developed a Roman-style pizza dough recipe that he says is unlike anything currently available in the Dayton area. “The crust has the perfect ratio of crisp to chew,” he said.
For more information, check out the Old Dayton Pizza Riverside Hideaway Facebook page.
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