5 surprising restaurant closings this month — including a craft beer pioneer and a 40-year-old pizza joint

1. Applebee’s

The franchise owner of Applebee’s Grill & Bar restaurants throughout Ohio has permanently shut down one of its Dayton-area restaurants at 6242 Wilmington Pike in Sugarcreek Twp.

A spokeswoman for Applebee’s Grill & Bar says the restaurant chain’s owners want to “keep as many restaurants open as possible” after filing a lawsuit seeking to gain control of the brand’s restaurants in the Dayton area and elsewhere in Ohio from its franchisee.

»»READ MORE: Applebees to 'keep as many restaurants open as possible,' spokeswoman says

2. Mike’s Nashville Hot 

Less than two years after it opened, a restaurant known for its spicy chicken has closed one if its Dayton-area locations.

The Mike’s Nashville Hot restaurant at 6230 Far Hills Ave. (Ohio 48) in the Shops of North Village retail center in Centerville is closed. The Centerville location opened Monday, Jan. 30, 2017.

When it opened, the Centerville Mike’s location had seats for about 72 and employed about 40.

»»READ MORE: 18 months after opening, chicken chain shuts down one of its Dayton locations 

3. De’Lish

Jasmine Brown announced on her Facebook page that her restaurant, De'Lish Cafe, located at 139 N. Main St., will close for good on July 31.

“As I am sitting here writing this, I am tearing up. This message is to let everyone know that De’Lish will be closing July 31, 2018 for good.

My family and I have given this city 8 long and hard years of our lives. We have had good times and we have had bad times.

It is time for us to move on to try something different…”

Brown launched the restaurant in 2010, at the former site of Gregory’s Piano Bar.

»»READ MORE: Downtown restaurant closing for good

4. Rocky’s Pizza Ring 

The owner of a Beavercreek pizza restaurant that has operated for more than four decades has shut down.

“Yes, Saturday, June 30, at 9 p.m., we will close our doors,” Rocky’s Pizza Ring owner Amy Calcutta told this news outlet via a Facebook message. The restaurant is located in the Beaver Valley Shopping Center at North Fairfield Road and U.S. 35 in Beavercreek.

“We want to thank you for allowing us to be a part of your family and for over 40 years of memories,” the owners of Rocky’s Pizza Ring said on its Facebook page in March. The decision to shut down was made “with a heavy heart,” the owners said.

»»READ MORE: Beavercreek pizza restaurant to shut down for good after more than 40 years.

5. Chappys Tap Room and Grille

A local beer bar and restaurant that was a pioneer of the craft beer movement in the Dayton has shut its doors for good, but its second, newer location will remain open.

Chappys Tap Room and Grille at 2733 West Alex-Bell Road near Springboro Pike (Ohio 741) in Moraine — which opened in 2007 and helped lay the groundwork for the Dayton area’s thriving brewery scene — will consolidate operations to Chappy's Social House at 7880 Washington Village Drive in Washington Twp.

»»READ MORE: One of Dayton's pioneer craft-beer pubs to shut down this weekend after more than a decade.