10 restaurants opening in the Dayton area in 2018

There isn’t much that excites us more than new restaurants to try. Luckily, 2018 is looking to be a great year for eating in Dayton.

Here are 10 restaurants slated to open this year.

Partial to Pie

A new bakery specializing in pies is in the works near the campus of the University of Dayton.

>> New bakery specializing in pies to open near UD

If all goes well, the bakery to be named “Partial to Pie” could open as early as this spring, founder and owner Marie Clark told this news outlet.

The bakery will be located at 200 Shroyer Road, at the Wilmington Pike/Shroyer Road intersection.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches

A Dallas-based sandwich chain is now hiring for its first Dayton-area restaurant that is coming soon to the Cornerstone of Centerville development.

>> New sandwich shop now hiring for first Dayton-area location

The menu includes specialty sandwiches such as the “Ultimate BLT,” Philly Cheesesteak, Superfood Wich, Meatball Grinder, Cobb Salad Wrap, Reuben and Gyro.

A coffee shop is in the works in the South Park neighborhood of Dayton that will also include jazz music, tea and if things go as planned, a dram or two of alcohol for certain coffee drinks.

>> SNEAK PEEK: New Dayton coffee shop will blend java with jazz music

The new business will be called Wholly Grounds, and it could open as early as April at 825 Wayne Ave. in Dayton. The space previously housed Lindy & Company Gourmet Pet Treats, which moved its operations to South Patterson Boulevard more than a year ago.

The Dayton area’s fourth IHOP restaurant is gearing up to open in the coming weeks.

>> IHOP gears up to open 4th Dayton-area restaurant

The region’s newest IHOP — at 3324 Benchwood Road in Vandalia, near the Miller Lane/York Commons development — is scheduled to open in mid-March, said Jamila Gilbert, spokeswoman for local IHOP franchisee PDG/Prestige Development Group.

Gyro Palace

A restaurant along the busy Brown Street corridor near the University of Dayton has shut down temporarily for renovations and a transition to new ownership.

>> Brown Street restaurant closes temporarily

The owner of The Gyro Room at 1124 Brown St. has sold the business to the Gyro Palace, which operates a restaurant at 57 S. Springboro Pike in Miamisburg at the corner of Ohio 725 and Ohio 741.

The restaurant will reopen as a second location of the Gyro Palace after renovations, Gyro Palace owner Mohamed Redha said. Adding ventilation and equipment to allow the restaurant to cook french fries and other fried foods are a part of the renovation, Redha said.

Plans call for the new Gyro Palace to open in March, “if everything goes smoothly,” the restaurant’s owner said.

Calypso Grill 

The owner of the Sunrise Cafe in Yellow Springs will open a second restaurant with a separate name and concept in the village in the coming weeks.

>> Caribbean restaurant in the works in Yellow Springs

Renovations are underway at 1535 Xenia Ave. for the Calypso Grill and Smokehouse, serving primarily Caribbean food, according to Sunrise Cafe owner and Calypso Grill founder Brian Rainey. Calypso Grill will open in space that previously housed Dona Margarota’s, a Mexican restaurant that shut down late last year.

Lefty’s Eats & Espresso

Lawren Williams is shooting for a mid-February opening for Lefty’s Eats & Espresso, his new restaurant and coffee shop that will be located at 2 W. Main St. in Fairborn.

>> Restaurant owner gearing up to open new eatery after closing another

Two days before Christmas, Williams shut down his namesake restaurant, Williams Eatery, which had operated for nearly 10 years at 101 Corry St. in Yellow Springs.

Lefty’s will offer sandwiches, soups and salads, and will include some menu options that go beyond traditional sandwich-shop fare, such as carnitas, lump crabmeat, Santa Fe chicken salad, and a grilled vegetarian sandwich with black beans and quinoa, Williams said. The restaurant will get its breads from Dayton’s Evans Bakery.

The Five Rivers MetroParks 2nd Street Market is adding a new restaurant vendor who has helped develop dishes at some of Dayton’s best-known restaurants.

>> Local chef to open new restaurant in 2nd Street Market

Invoke, founded by brothers Lester and Larry Gates, will open in early February and will be a full three-day-a-week vendor until the market expands its hours this June to Thursday through Sunday.

The menu will rotate with the seasons, and ingredients will be sourced locally, Gates said.

Invoke’s menu will include classic brunch items such as chicken and waffles — in this case, the waffles will be made from sweet potatoes — along with Eggs Benedict and BLT sandwiches. There will be several vegan options offered, including a BLT with tofu bacon, a “carrot dog,” and vegan cookies and cheesecake, Gates said.

The Florentine

Clay Alsip and Beth Vanden Berg, the husband-and-wife team that recently purchased the historic Florentine restaurant in Germantown, have big plans for Ohio’s second-oldest inn that dates to 1816.

>> PHOTOS: Take a look inside the beautiful, historic Florentine Inn in Germantown

The restaurant has shut down for minor maintenance and to give the kitchen a deep-cleaning, Alsip and Vanden Berg said. If all goes as planned, the restaurant will be back up and running by mid-February.

>> New owners reveal plans for The Florentine restaurant

Menu highlights include Prime Rib, BBQ Ribs, Orange Roughy, and steaks such as Filet Mignon and New York Strip.

Grind House Coffee and Tea Company 

A locally owned and independent coffee company is scheduled to open its first physical retail shop this spring inside the Huber Heights Meijer store, and the shop’s owner says many more locations are in the works.

>> New, locally-owned coffee and tea company to launch 1st store

A spokesman for Meijer confirmed that Grind House Coffee and Tea Co. — founded in 2015 by Dayton native Bill Miller — will open a coffee shop inside and near the front entrance of the Meijer store at 7150 Executive Blvd., near the I-70/Ohio 201 (Brandt Pike) interchange.

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