Spring has sprung with 7 new Dayton-area restaurants opening and 2 more on the way

The menu at Poppie’s Pizzeria on Smithville Road takes traditional pizza to the next level, offering fruit pizza and pizza soup. And Thai Table, a new Asian restaurant serving upscale dishes, has opened its doors in Washington Twp.

Two more restaurants are on the horizon. Narco Burger hopes to open later in the spring with a menu focusing on burgers, and Gionino’s Pizzeria has confirmed its plans to open a second Dayton-area location, this one in Kettering.

Here’s a look at the delicious restaurant news that broke in March 2021 across the Miami Valley.

OPEN

Nutmeg Café

Nutmeg Café, a restaurant and coffee shop founded by a local wife-and-husband team, opened March 9 on State Route 48 just south of Centerville.

The new eatery is located in a 1,400 square-foot space at 9166 Dayton-Lebanon Pike in Washington Twp., in a retail center that includes China Dynasty restaurant and a Sherwin-Williams paint store.

Nutmeg Café has no televisions, just some soft background music, to accompany a breakfast, brunch and lunch menu and specialty coffee beverages that will be served from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays.

The menu includes Broccoli Cheddar Quiche, Chicken Pot Pie, Ham & Cheddar Quiche, salads, soup and panini-style sandwiches as well as bakery items such as cookies, pastries and tortes.

Poppie’s Pizzeria

Poppie’s Pizzeria, located at 2615 S. Smithville Road in the same retail building that houses Belmont Party Supply, offers pizzas, wings, salads, desserts, and some less traditional fare, including the popular fruit pizza and pizza soup.

David Cox and his wife Heidi Cox, the founders, also create fresh desserts, like peach cobbler, chocolate brownies and Italian rainbow cake, for the restaurant.

Before opening Poppie’s, the couple owned the Baker’s Dozen bakery in Bellbrook for over 20 years before it closed.

The Cookie Joint

Isiah Davis, founder of The Cookie Joint, has been quietly building a loyal following, all through the Butter Café carryout window at 1106 Brown St., near the University of Dayton campus.

The Cookie Joint differentiates itself from other bakeries and dessert shops by beginning baking cookies only after an order has been placed. Davis strives for his cookies to still be warm when customers arrive at the window.

Davis’ cookie flavors include Notorious C.H.I.P. (chocolate chip), Busta-Nut (browned butter, toasted pecans, vanilla), Hippie Potion #9 (white and semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter chips), Queen B (brown sugar) and more.

Davis has big plans for the future of The Cookie Joint, and he says he wants his cookies to someday be a household name in Dayton.

Thai Table

The Dayton area’s newest Asian restaurant, Thai Table, opened its doors to the public on March 9, in the former Geez Grill & Pub space off Far Hills Avenue in Washington Twp.

The restaurant located at 5841 Far Hills Ave. was founded by Suwapat “Sue” Whitted, owner of Thai Kitchen on Kingsridge Drive in Miami Twp. The new restaurant will serve upscale Thai dishes. Plans call for a sushi bar and a bar serving alcohol.

“Thai cuisine is becoming more popular in the Dayton area, and I want to explore some new ideas,” Whitted said.

Dayton Village Pizza Restaurant

The Dayton Village Pizza Restaurant, 3630 N. Dixie Drive, serves a variety of dishes, including pizza, sandwiches, wings and Turkish specialties.

The restaurant is owned by Sabirzhon Makhmudova and operated by members of his family. Makhmudova and his family, originally from Russia, have been living in Dayton for more than a decade. For years, it was Makhmudova’s dream to open a family restaurant that serves dishes that celebrate his Turkish heritage.

Apart from the selection of pizza, wings and other American food, customers can look forward to indulging in Turkish favorites, like mixed grill platters, with four different types of meat, salad, rice, bread, hummus and desserts. The restaurant is working on a second menu that will expand its Turkish offerings.

Fatback’s BBQ

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 — has reopened under new owners.

“Are you hungry for some barbecue? We’ll see you Saturday, March 20 for our grand re-opening!” Curtis Fackler, the restaurant’s new owner, wrote on the Fatback’s BBQ Facebook page.

Fackler said the restaurant will sell its rubs and sauces again in addition to the traditional barbecue meats and sides.

Graeter’s

Graeter’s has opened a drive-thru at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield and plans to open the inside section after Memorial Day.

The 1,200-square-foot ice cream parlor also will have an outside patio.

“Everyone goes to Graeter’s,” Phill Adams, director of development at Jungle Jim’s International Market, said. “We’re pleased to have them here.”

COMING SOON

Narco Burger

Narco Burger, gearing up to open at 605 Spinning Road near Burkhardt Road in Riverside, will focus on burgers, but will also offer a menu of chicken, salads, wings, desserts, an expansive drink menu and more.

The space has housed two former Dayton pizza spots, Wei’s Pizza and Rick’s Pizza.

An official opening date has not been set yet, but Narco Burger’s owner and operations manager, Tim Nartker, said he expects the new restaurant to open in late spring.

Gionino’s Pizzeria

Gionino’s Pizzeria, which opened its first Miami Valley restaurant on East Third Street in Dayton’s Huffman Historic Area in 2019, will open a second location in the coming months on Far Hills Avenue, expanding the the Akron-based pizza chain’s reach into Dayton’s south suburbs.

The new pizza shop is coming to 4015 Far Hills Ave. at Stroop Road in Kettering.

“We have signed the lease for our new Gionino’s location,” Tony Clark, the Dayton-area franchise owner of Gionino’s, told the Dayton Daily News Wednesday. “We started the build-out of the restaurant this week. We hope to be open by June 1.”

In addition to pizza, Gionino’s serves Italiano Fried Chicken, along with subs, salads, and wings.