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T.J. Fan, who operates a Happy Asian Mart in Cincinnati, had submitted plans for a food market last year to Kettering city officials.
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The 10,500-square-foot building that houses the Happy Asian Mart dates to the 1950s and enjoyed its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s as the Colony Club, a nightclub and restaurant that brought in big-band musical acts, drawing large crowds from throughout the region.
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After the Colony Club shut down, it was replaced by Mindy’s nightclub in the 1990s. The building later housed a series of restaurants, including Los 3 Amigos, El Rancho Grande and, most recently, El Rio Grande.
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El Rio Grande shut down initially in 2012, later reopened, and shut down again in 2015. The building had been vacant since.
Happy Asian Mart is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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