Restaurants in Dayton region open for more than 50 years

Here is a list of restaurants in the Dayton region that have met that milestone:

Golden Lamb 🍴

Founded: 1803

Location: 27 S. Broadway St. in Lebanon

Details: The origins of the historic hotel date back to 1803 when New Jersey native Jonas Seaman spent $4 for a license to operate a “house of Public Entertainment” on Broadway in the brand new village of Lebanon.

Seaman built a log cabin where he and his wife, Martha, provided travelers with deer, bear, wild turkey and old-fashioned apple butter in front of an open heath, according to research by John Zimkus, historian with the Warren County Historical Society.

In 1815 new owner Ichabod Corwin expanded and built a two-story brick building. The tavern became known not only for its meals but as a gathering place for the community.

Today, the Golden Lamb is Ohio’s longest continually operating business featuring a restaurant and boutique hotel.

The Hammel House Inn 🍴

Founded: 1800s

Location: 121 S. Main St. in Waynesville

Details: The Hammel House Inn’s history dates back to the early 1800s when the village held its first election there in 1803. The current building was constructed as an inn and stage coach stop in 1822.

Fast forward to 2018, the Hammel House was briefly closed for renovations. The inn reopened in 2020 with new owners, a fresh look and a relatively new menu.

Falb’s Restaurant 🍴

Founded: 1920

Location: 201 Kiser St. in Dayton

Details: Falb’s Restaurant has been owned by the same family for three generations, serving up homemade fare including cabbage rolls, meatloaf, sloppy joes, polish sausage, chicken and dumplings and much more.

Joe Falb, who operates the restaurant with his brother, Dwayne, recalled that his grandfather worked for the Barney & Smith Car Company. Sometime before 1920, his grandfather grew frustrated with work there and wanted his own business. He came home with his tools and decided to set up a dry goods store. While relaxing on the porch one day, workers at a nearby factory asked him to “fry up a couple of hamburgers” and he did.

Ever since then, Falb’s restaurant has been serving food cafeteria style for those on-the-go.

Buckhorn Tavern 🍴

Founded: 1943

Location: 8800 Meeker Road in Dayton

Details: The Buckhorn Tavern, described as a rustic hideaway in Butler Twp. located along the Stillwater River, has been operating since 1943. Thirty-eight years later, Bob and Debbie Vanderhule purchased the property and began a full-service restaurant.

The tavern is known for its ribs and steaks. The menu also features fresh seafood, shrimp, chicken entrees, salad creations, homemade soups, bistro sandwiches and much more.

The Pine Club 🍴

Founded: 1947

Location: 1926 Brown St. in Dayton

Details: The Pine Club, known as Dayton’s iconic steakhouse, has been serving mouth-watering filets garnished with onion rings and a side of stewed tomatoes since 1947.

Jim Sullivan purchased Lonnie’s Bar on Brown Street in 1947 and after installing pine paneling on the walls, he changed the name to The Pine Club. Less than 10 years later, Lloyd Meinzer purchased the restaurant and added the south part of the dining room and increased the size of the bar. The third owner, David Hulme, purchased The Pine Club in 1979 and sold the restaurant in 2018 to new ownership who request to remain anonymous.

Long-standing traditions such as no reservations, credit cards and desserts remain.

Slyder’s Tavern 🍴

Founded: 1948

Location: 836 Watervliet Ave. in Dayton

Details: Slyder’s Tavern, a Belmont tradition since 1948, is known for its hamburgers and chicken wings.

In fact, the restaurant has received the distinction of Best Hamburger in six out of eight of our Best of Dayton contests. It also received second place for Best Neighborhood Bar.

Through the years, Slyder’s Tavern has also been a finalist in Best Wings, Best Cheap Eats, Best Onion Rings and Best Chili.

Giovanni’s Pizzeria é Ristorante Italiano 🍴

Founded: 1953

Location: 215 W. Main St. in Fairborn

Details: Giovanni’s has been known as a Fairborn tradition since 1953 serving up great pizza and Italian dishes.

Longtime owner Anthony F.M. “Tony” Spaziani purchased the restaurant in 1994 and doubled the restaurant’s dining space by adding a banquet room and opening an in-house bakery. Spaziani died on Aug. 29, 2022. The restaurant’s legacy continues with Spaziani’s daughter, Cassaundra.

Cassano’s Pizza King 🍴

Founded: 1953

Location: Multiple locations throughout the Dayton area

Details: Vic Cassano Sr., the son of Italian immigrants, and his mother-in-law, Caroline “Mom” Donisi, started Dayton’s first pizza shop in 1953.

Cassano’s Pizza King opened in a 20-by-15-foot room at West Schantz Avenue and Patterson Boulevard. The pizza shop was known locally at the start as “Vic & Mom’s.” Now, with multiple locations in Dayton, there are over 30 Cassano’s Pizza King stores.

Joe’s Pizza 🍴

Founded: 1959

Location: 4313 Airway Road in Dayton

Details: Joe’s Pizza was opened by Robert and Bettie Stanchek in 1959. From 1996 to 2011 it was notably owned by Robert and Bettie’s daughter, Linda, and her husband John Schearer, who is the cousin of current owner Mike Peterson.

Mike Peterson and his wife, Debra, are carrying on a tradition that many current and former residents of East Dayton and what is now Riverside think about when hit with a pizza craving.

Christy’s Family Pizzeria 🍴

Founded: 1960

Location: 503 S. Dixie Drive in Vandalia

Details: Christy’s Pizza, as it’s informally known, was founded in 1960 by Dan and Betty Collinsworth. At the time, the couple took over an old restaurant already bearing the name Christy’s. To make it their own, the Collinsworths added “Family Pizzeria” to the name and began offering a variety of pizzas and additional entrees, like cabbage rolls, paying homage to their Hungarian roots.

The pizzeria has remained in the family for three generations.

Treasure Island Supper Club 🍴

Founded: 1961

Location: 4250 Chief Woods Lane in Moraine

Details: Treasure Island Supper Club has been a staple for residents of Moraine, Kettering, Oakwood, Miamisburg, West Carrollton and beyond since 1961.

Chef Dana and Katherine Downs, the owners of Roost Modern Italian in Dayton’s Oregon District, took over day-to-day management of the restaurant in July.

Oakwood Club 🍴

Founded: 1962

Location: 2414 Far Hills Avenue in Oakwood

Details: Ray and Margie Stewart opened The Oakwood Club in 1962. They took a small lunch-style restaurant and turned it into a fine dining steakhouse.

Lance Stewart, Ray and Margie’s son, operated the restaurant for about 30 years before it was purchased in June 2022 by The One Esca Group, a Dallas-based restaurant management group.

Hickory Bar-B-Q 🍴

Founded: 1962

Location: 1082 Brown St. in Dayton

Details: In 1962, Steve and Sylvia Kolb opened the Brown Street restaurant with Steve’s sister, Irene, and her husband, Joe Kiss. In 1989 Joe and Irene became the sole owners of the restaurant and renamed it Joe Kiss’s Hickory Bar-B-Q.

Now known as Hickory Bar-B-Q, the restaurant has continued to be owned and operated by the same family.

Ron’s Pizza 🍴

Founded: 1964

Location: 1 S. Main St. in Miamisburg

Details: Ron Holp opened Ron’s Pizza in 1964, moving out in 1999 to several different locations before coming to 1 South Main St. in 2002.

Holp operated a Cassano’s location from 1960 to 1964 in Miamisburg, but always wanted to open his own place. His late wife, Abbie, worked for months to perfect a dough recipe that was almost identical to the Cassano’s variety. The restaurant still makes the same dough as they did nearly 60 years ago.

Marion’s Piazza 🍴

Founded: 1965

Location: Multiple locations throughout the Dayton area

Details: In the 1930s, Marion Glass, founder of Marion’s Pizza, organized a group of boys to take to the streets on bicycles and sell ice cream bars. Later, he sold those treats in storefronts and then after owning three Cassano’s pizza franchises, he had the idea to open a unique dining room pizza spot in 1965 called Marion’s Piazza.

The restaurant, located at 460 Patterson Road in Dayton, sat over 200 customers in the dining room. This was a first for pizza establishments in the area because all the others offered carryout service with no inside dining.

Today the business has restaurants in north and south Dayton, the Dayton Mall area, Centerville, Beavercreek, Kettering, Englewood, Troy and Mason.

Milano’s Pizza, Subs & Taps 🍴

Founded: 1969

Location: Three locations in the Dayton area

Details: The business that opened its doors on Brown Street in 1969 as Milano’s Atlantic City Submarines quickly turned into an iconic food source and hang out for University of Dayton students and staff.

The restaurant has two additional locations at 9572 Springboro Pike in Miami Twp. and 2260 N. Fairfield Road in Beavercreek.

Flying Pizza 🍴

Founded: 1971

Location: Three locations in the Dayton area

Details: Flying Pizza, a family-owned and operated business since 1971, serves New York style pizza by the slice or whole pie. For over 50 years, they have been using the same cheese, same flour, same sauce and the same hands to make the pizzas.

The pizza shop has three locations in the Dayton area including 223 N. Main St. in Dayton, 2640 Colonel Glenn Highway in Fairborn and 421 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Centerville.

If you would like your restaurant to be added to this list, send details to Natalie.Jones@coxinc.com or fill out the Google Form below.