New Mudlick Tap House ‘so close we can almost taste it’

Mudlick Tap House — the gastropub-style restaurant coming to downtown Dayton — has obtained a key permit to finish kitchen construction and is moving ahead with the final touches leading to a projected opening in June.

Co-founders Jennifer Dean and Forrest Williams posted an Instagram image Wednesday of the construction permit to install a hood-suppression system and said in the caption that the new pub “is so close we can almost taste it.”

Instagram followers chimed in to respond to Dean’s invitation to “Tell us what you are looking forward to most from our new location” with “A spicy bloody Mary” and “Having a great place to go when visiting my son at UD.”

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The co-founders, who also operate a Mudlick Tap House in Germantown, have spent the last several months renovating the former Club Aquarius space at 135 E. Second St.

Mudlick Tap House’s Dayton location initially will occupy the first two floors of the three-story building, each floor containing about 4,500 square feet. There will be seating for about 150 combined on the two floors, Dean has said.

The restaurant will offer a broad menu, all dishes made from scratch, ranging from sandwiches to entrees, with a focus on locally sourced ingredients, Dean said. The tap house will have 12 beer taps, all devoted to craft beers, and will serve cocktails and wine as well.

Plans call for Mudlick Tap House to host some invitation-only soft-open events in conjunction with local non-profit agencies prior to opening its doors to the public, Dean said last month. Those events could come in early June, if all goes well with final construction, she told us today.

>> RELATED: Mudlick Tap House moving ahead with downtown Dayton plans

Here's how Dean and Williams introduced themselves today, April 27, on Mudlick's Facebook page and Instagram account:

“We are Forrest & Jen (no Forrest Gump jokes, please), proprietors of Mudlick Tap House. You won’t see our faces much in our media, we aren’t into that sort of thing.

“You see, we don’t think of Mudlick Tap House as ‘ours’ … we think of it as ‘OURS’ … from our extremely talented culinary team that works every day to deliver their creative, mindfully sourced dishes, our service team who seeks to create a unique experience for every guest that walks through our door, to all of our guests that consider the Tap House amongst one of their favorite places for high end beer and cocktails with chef-inspired food.

“We are excited for the next chapter and even more excited to become part of the booming downtown scene! In the coming weeks, allow us to introduce you to the kick-ass team that is working hard to lay the groundwork, creating an unparalleled dining experience for each guest that walks through our doors.

“Leading up to our opening, we will be posting about the leadership team along with the “barrel-aged” staff who are preparing for this new adventure. So follow along and get to know us!”

After it opens, the Mudlick Dayton’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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