Tipp City Restaurant Tipp o' the Town site bought by Taco Bell

The Tipp o’ the Town Family Restaurant property at 1150 W. Main St. in Tipp City has been purchased, and the new owners intend to demolish the existing structure and build a new eatery.

But it won’t be called Tipp o’ the Town. Instead, it will be called “Taco Bell.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Tipp City restaurant to shut its doors after 29 years

Paul Laubier, owner of Tipp o’ the Town, shut down the restaurant on Dec. 31. At the time, Laubier said there were two potential scenarios of what could happen to the property.

The company that owns the Taco Bell on the east side of the I-75-Ohio 571 interchange had the equivalent of first dibs on the property on the west side of the interchange — an option to purchase that extended through mid-January, Laubier said. If no deal was finalized during that time frame, Laubier said a second, unidentified potential buyer was interested in purchasing the property, and had indicated to Laubier that the restaurant would likely reopen as Tipp o’ the Town.

Laubier said Wednesday night that the Taco Bell-connected company had exercised its purchase option, and plans to build a relocated Taco Bell on the site after demolishing the existing structure.

“I have 30 days to vacate,” Laubier said. “The deal is done, and money is in escrow.”

The Tipp o’ the Town Family Restaurant was a community mainstay for more than 29 years. The building has housed a restaurant since the mid-1960s, when an Aunt Jemimah’s Pancake House opened there, and it has had stints as Calico Kitchen, Ye Old Family Inn and Cindy’s, Laubier said. When Laubier opened Tipp o’ the Town in the fall of 1988, the space had been empty for more than a year.

ALSO IN TIPP: Judge issues preliminary ruling in mom-vs.-son Tipp City restaurant lawsuit (August 2017)

Now 66, Laubier said it was time for him to retire. But he said the “Tipp o’ the Town” business name and the restaurant’s recipes are still for sale to anyone who would want to reopen with the same or similar concept in another location.

“I’d love to keep the name going,” the now-retired restaurant owner said. “It would be a perfect opportunity for someone to open Tipp o’ the Town somewhere else in Tipp City.”

Robert Zavakos — senior vice president of the commercial real estate firm NAI Bergman -- represented the Taco Bell-affiliated company in the real-estate transaction.

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About the Author

Mark Fisher

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.