Downtown reopening: Dayton Club is slated to reopen Sept. 1

Credit: DeANGELO BYRD / STAFF

Credit: DeANGELO BYRD / STAFF

The Dayton Club is slated to reopen Sept. 1, according to a club email sent to members Wednesday.

The Dayton Club had closed in mid-March as government-imposed quarantine orders and spreading fears of COVID-19 were first starting to be keenly felt in Dayton and across the United States.

The club, atop the Stratacache Tower in downtown Dayton, will reopen with new guidelines on social distancing and safety, a new email from general manager Bradley Alexander tells customers.

Dues payments that had been suspended will also be reinstated effective Sept. 1, Alexander also said.

“Here’s some of what we’ll do to keep you healthy and safe at the Club:

· Table distancing

· Masks and gloves for all employee partners

· Hand sanitizing stations

· Meticulous club sanitation schedule

· Additional space provided to spread out for working remotely,” the email states.

The club tells members it is adopting a “phased approach” to dining, offering breakfast and lunch, with dining hours of 7 a.m. – 2 p.m., to-go menus and a gym reconfigured with CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control) guidelines in mind.

The gym will be open from 6 a.m. – 2 p.m., Alexander’s email says.

Arkham Ventures -- the property arm of Dayton digital company Stratacache and landlord of Stratacache Tower -- in May sued the former Dayton Racquet Club in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, saying the club had failed to make its April and May lease payments and left perishable items in the “unsecured” club space after its closing.

That lawsuit is in mediation, with arbitration scheduled for this week, said Chris Riegel, owner of Stratacache Tower, as well as chief executive of Stratacache.

“Rent’s current, so OK,” Riegel said Wednesday.

In May, Dallas-based club owner ClubCorp responded to the suit with a statement to members, shifting blame to the building’s landlord and promising to keep members updated.

ClubCorp also said it had staff at the club shortly after the closing to handle “administrative tasks, as well as to provide meals to our furloughed employees.”

A message seeking comment was sent to Alexander.

The former Dayton Racquet Club was rechristened the Dayton Club in 2018.

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