Signs of life at the former Beavercreek Don Pablo’s restaurant

There are encouraging signs that a new restaurant may be in the works at the former Don Pablo’s restaurant in front of the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.

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The space has been vacant for 18 months, since Don Pablo’s shut its doors for good in September 2016.

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A limited liability corporation doing business as Black Rock Bar & Grill applied for a full liquor license on March 29, from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control. The "doing-business-as" name matches exactly the restaurants operated by a regional Michigan-based chain, Black Rock Restaurants, which operates 11 "Black Rock Bar & Grill" locations, mostly in Michigan and Florida. The restaurants serve their steaks sizzling on a 755-degree volcanic rock, Black Rock's web site says.

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A Mall at Fairfield Commons spokeswoman said she could not comment. This news outlet has reached out to Black Rock Restaurants to seek more information.

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A liquor license application often comes early in a new restaurant’s development process, and it does not always lead to the opening of a new establishment. But the activity is an encouraging sign of interest in the space that has been dormant for a year and a half in a prominent location in front of the mall in north Beavercreek, which has been the epicenter of considerable restaurant activity the last few years.

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