“I was looking to open another location, and Xenia was option one,” said Lawren Williams, founder and owner of Lefty’s. “I always knew I wanted to get into a larger space after figuring out that people like what we are doing. The plan always was to try to do this in multiple locations.”
The new Xenia restaurant will seat 60 to 70, “even with COVID restrictions,” Williams said. His Fairborn restaurant seats 20 to 25, although it also offers online ordering, carryout, delivery and curbside pickup.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
If all goes as planned, Williams will take over the space on Nov. 16 and will immediately begin serving the same breakfast and lunch menu items currently offered at the Fairborn restaurant. Initially, the new Lefty’s will likely be open six days a week for breakfast and lunch, but long-term plans call for adding dinner service and expanding to seven days a week, Williams said.
Greg Bernitt, founder of Courthouse Coffee, said he opened Courthouse Coffee in 2018 to help kick-start re-development in downtown Xenia, but he did not intend to operate it for the long haul.
“I consider myself more of an entrepreneur, developer and landlord than a restaurant owner,” Bernitt said. “I’ve just never been able to find the right owner-operator to take this place to the next level, but Lawren certainly is that person. I was so happy to find him and to bring his quality food and his experience to Xenia.”
Williams said he liked the coffee shop’s location, at the main intersection of downtown Xenia, directly across from the Greene County courthouse.
“There is a lot of traffic flow, a lot of businesses and office buildings,” the Lefty’s Eats founder said. “Xenia is a growing community, and it is going through a revitalization. It’s exciting to be here.”
For more information, go to www.eatatleftys.com.
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