The restaurant, formerly known as McKenna’s Grille, relocated within the hotel during extensive renovations and reconstruction. It has now moved back into the former restaurant space with a new name, The Wright Place, and a new menu that is still being tweaked and which utilizes local and Ohio-based ingredients, Deaton said.
Hotel officials intend to more formally unveil the new menu, name and renovated space by the end of this month. The hotel’s reception, banquet and catering facilities also underwent a significant makeover, the general manager said.
The Wright Place will carry a rotating selection of Carillon Brewing Company’s beers, which are made in the brewery on the grounds of Carillon Park in Dayton. The facility was built to replicate a mid-19th century-era brewery, and uses many recipes that are specific to that era.
Brewery and restaurant officials have discussed the possibility of Carillon creating a beer branded for The Wright Place, a Dayton History spokesman and Deaton said.
The 203-room Holiday Inn Dayton Fairborn hosts a large number of military reunions because of its proximity to the National Museum of the United States Air Force and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and attendees of those events have a strong interest in Dayton’s history and often visit Carillon Park, Deaton said. Carillon Brewing Company spotlights Dayton’s rich brewing heritage.
The hotel’s restaurant captured first place for “Best Entree” at the 2016 Taste of Greene County event held in April at Wright State University in April for Ahi Tuna Tacos with Jicama Slaw and Sriracha Aioli. The dish was prepared by the restaurant’s executive chef, Justin White, who formerly served as executive chef at Jay’s Restaurant and the Dayton Country Club.
The hotel and its newly re-branded Wright Place restaurant are located at 2800 Presidential Drive across from Wright State University in Fairborn. For more information about the hotel, call (937) 426-7800.
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