New downtown Dayton restaurant years in the making now open

Jimmy John’s in the Biltmore Towers will serve as carryout, delivery option for residents, workers & concert-goers

Fitting a “freaky fast” restaurant into a  building that dates back to 1929 was not freaky fast as it turns out.

"It's been like birthing a child," Jeff Wagoner, the owner-operator of the new Jimmy John's inside of Biltmore Tower, told this news organization this morning. "Hopefully the labor pains will ultimately be worth it."

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In the works since 2016, the franchise with freaky fast as a slogan opens to the public today at 11 a.m. at 220 N. Main St. in downtown Dayton.

Credit: Jimmy John's Facebook

Credit: Jimmy John's Facebook

"Its been a long journey," Wagoner's business partner Dave Polen said. "This is bittersweet."

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Wagoner said there were a bevy of venting and structural issues putting a new Jimmy John’s with all of its high standards  in 90-year-old building.

He is now looking forward to the future and becoming a part of downtown Dayton.

The restaurant will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Wagoner said it can remain open even longer if things are “popping” and there are crowds from downtown shows or Dragon games.

***PREVIOUS COVERAGE: (April 17, 2019): New downtown Dayton restaurant to deliver by bicycle — and it’s hiring

The new Jimmy John's restaurant coming to downtown Dayton will host a hiring event Monday, April 22 and plans to open in the next two weeks, Jeff Wagoner, the sandwich shop's franchise owner-operator said today, April 17.

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The new restaurant will be located at 220 N. Main St. in the Biltmore Towers. The hiring event will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday

In addition to hiring restaurant employees and delivery drivers, the sandwich shop will employ bicycle-delivery drivers.

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“We want to use bike delivery for the bulk of our delivery drivers,” Wagoner said. “They are much faster in a downtown setting, and obviously more eco-friendly.”

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The shop will deliver to Levitt Pavilion in addition the the rest of downtown.

Wagoner said he expects the region’s newest Jimmy John’s to open during the last week of April, although no specific date has been set yet.

*** PREVIOUS UPDATE (March 15, 2019)***

The franchise owner-operator of the new Jimmy John’s restaurant coming to downtown Dayton said the restaurant has overcome some construction-related complications that set back its projected timeline and is now on track to open later this spring.

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The restaurant coming to 220 N. Main St. in the Biltmore Towers had to re-do a considerable amount of electrical work in its portion of the nearly 90-year-old building, according to Jeff Wagoner, the store’s franchise owner-operator.

“It delayed us significantly, but we are now tracking, currently, to open within the first couple of weeks of April,” Wagoner said. “We will start hiring during those two weeks”  prior to opening, he said.

*** ORIGINAL STORY (Jan. 2, 2019)***

Jimmy John's is gearing up to open a new sandwich shop in downtown Dayton.

The shop at 220 N. Main St. in the Biltmore Towers will focus primarily on carry-out and delivery, but will have seating for seven, according to Jeff Wagoner, the store’s franchise owner-operator.

“We are about two or three weeks from completing construction,” Wagoner told this news outlet today, Jan. 2. “We are looking to open in early February.”

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The store will hire a projected 30 to 40 people to work in the shop and to deliver orders via car and bicycle, Wagoner said.

The expansion of downtown Dayton’s daytime office population and its residential population, along with development in and around RiverScape, made the Biltmore Towers location attractive, the franchisee said.

Wagoner owned and operated the Jimmy John’s restaurant on Brown Street near the University of Dayton before selling it in 2016 to another local Jimmy John’s franchisee.

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“We are currently looking at other opportunities for expansion,” he said.