Dayton BBQ restaurant to reopen under new ownership 5 months after shutting down

Founder of Fatback’s says his successors have ‘my total support and blessing’

Credit: Dayton.com

What to Know
By Mark Fisher
Feb 22, 2021
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Fatback’s BBQ — the locally owned barbecue restaurant that operated for seven years at 1334 Linden Ave. in Dayton until shutting its doors in September 2020 — is gearing up to reopen under new owners, who have the full faith and confidence of the restaurant’s founder.

“We plan to keep the Fatback’s tradition going,” the restaurant’s new owner told this news outlet over the weekend. “Our planned re-opening date is early March.”

The new co-owner, who identified himself in a message as Curt, said details about the grand re-opening and the restaurant’s new owners are coming soon.

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Fatback’s founder and former owner Larry “Bub” Britton told this news outlet Sunday that the restaurant’s new owners “have my total support and blessing, and I am grateful that Fatback’s Barbecue will live on.”

Opening Fatback’s, Britton said, “was a dream of mine that I am so fortunate to have been able to live out, and it is everything I had hoped it would be. Curt and his partners will be the perfect owners to carry on where my dream comes to an end and a new dream begins.”

Fatback's BBQ on Linden Avenue in Dayton will reopen under new ownership 5 months after shutting down, its new owners say. MARK FISHER/STAFF

Credit: MARK FISHER/STAFF

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Credit: MARK FISHER/STAFF

Britton said the sale of Fatback’s “is bittersweet for me, as we have discussed before. I am looking forward to retirement and to slow down and enjoy life a bit, but at the same time I will deeply miss not only Fatback’s and the loyal employees and customers, many that I have become good friends with over the years.”

The building that houses Fatback’s, located west of Smithville Road on Linden Avenue, “has been a huge part of my life over the last 38 years, back to when I had my heating and air conditioning business, Comfort Center Inc., in the same building,” Britton said.

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Britton, a Dayton native and 1977 graduate of Belmont High School, had announced in the summer of 2019 that he had put the Fatback’s business, real estate, recipes and equipment up for sale, and that he was willing to teach the new owner the techniques and recipes that have made Fatback’s a popular destination for barbecue enthusiasts and generated a strong catering business in addition to the restaurant’s retail sales.

“I’m not going to sell it to just anybody. I want someone who has a passion for barbecue,” Britton told the Dayton Daily News at the time.

But no sale occurred over the following year, and in September 2020, Britton closed Fatback’s while still keeping it on the market.

On Sunday, Britton said he was looking to spend more time with his family, including his six grandchildren.

Britton said one of his former employees, Tyler Flohre, “who was with me at Fatback’s since day one and never missed a day in seven years, will be staying on and will be a huge help with the transition.”

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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.