>>MORE: Meadowlark, Fresco owners to join in downtown Dayton dining venture
Instead Elizabeth Wiley, the owner of Meadowlark in Washington Twp. and Wheat Penny in Dayton's Oregon District, said she and Jenn DiSanto will launch SageCraft, a catering operation at 3141 Far Hills Ave.
The address is the site of what was DiSanto’s Fresco Foods.
Wiley, a veteran in the local food industry, said the business will expand into 3155 Far Hills.
That a space is leased by F & J Wholesale Manufacturing Jewelers, a company owned by Weber Jewelers owner Fred Weber.
Located at 3109 Far Hills, Weber announced in November that it will be closing its doors.
>>MORE: Weber Jewelers going out of business
The jewelry store plans to close in February.
Weber says his lease of 3109 Fair Hills ends in 2019. He is looking for a business to take over the space, possibly another jewelry store.
Once the expansion is complete, SageCraft’s footprint will grow from 1,400 square feet to 2,800 square feet.
Wiley and DiSanto hope to have things fully in place by spring to take advantage of the upcoming 2017 wedding season.
DiSanto said the the collaboration starts Monday when the new company officially begins accepting bookings.
“We are ready to rock and roll,” she added.
Logically things like the company’s website and Facebook page will be worked out in the coming months.
DiSanto, the point person for catering company, said the partnership makes sense for growth.
She has collaborated with Wiley and her team numerous times.
“What sets us aside from other caters is that we do everything in a high-quality, crafted way,” she said.
As writer Mark Fisher first reported in August, Wiley and DiSanto had hoped to begin their venture in downtown Dayton at 200 S. Jefferson St. as a catering and special events venue. It would also have served as a commissary for nearby Wheat Penny.
The high-end sandwich shop with its late-night service would have come later.
Wiley said she still hopes to open a sandwich shop, but said timing issues with the city-owned Jefferson Street building located across from the Convention Center did not work with their plans.
That 5,700-square-foot space has struggled to keep a tenant since Chin's Oriental Cafe left in 2003 after a 17-year stint.
Tasty Measures Cafe shut it doors earlier this summer after six months.
In December 2013, the city did not renew its lease with Synergy Incubator, a non-profit responsible for a series of downtown Dayton food truck rallies. Synergy had hoped to offer certified commercial kitchen support services and programs
>>MORE: Volunteers start petition asking Dayton officials to renew food trucks’ lease
Before that, Sa-Bai Asian restaurant operated there for a time.
Wiley said she holds no animosity toward the city and hopes to work with officials on projects in the future.
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