January restaurant highlights: 4 new, 10 coming soon and 2 closing

New

Zoup! 

Zoup — which already operates a location next to Whole Foods on Ohio 725 in Washington Twp. — has opened its new restaurant at 5235 Cornerstone North Boulevard in the Shoppes at Cornerstone III, the four-tenant retail building along Wilmington Pike on the western edge of the Cornerstone of Centerville development. The building also houses three other restaurants: MOD Pizza, First Watch and Firehouse Subs.

Zoup offers about a dozen rotating daily varieties of soup, including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options, and also serves made-to-order salads and sandwiches.

Rapid Fired Pizza 

A locally based pizza chain opened its 22nd location with a bit of a twist.

The latest location for fast-growing, Kettering-based Rapid Fired Pizza is located at 40 South Progress Drive in Xenia. The 2,400-square-foot store will seat over 72 people.

Popeyes 

The Dayton area’s newest Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has opened its doors, and another is coming later this year as the region’s fried-chicken restaurant competition continues to intensify.

Popeyes opened its Springboro location at 829 W. Central Ave.

Steak Escape 

A restaurant that has operated for decades at the Dayton Mall opened a second location in Centerville on Jan. 8.

The Dayton area’s second Steak Escape served its first customers at 6201 Wilmington Pike at Clyo Road. The restaurant is located inside the BP convenience store at that heavily traveled intersection near Miami Valley Hospital South.

Coming Soon

Partial to Pie

A new bakery specializing in pies is in the works near the campus of the University of Dayton.

If all goes well, the bakery to be named “Partial to Pie” could open as early as this spring, founder and owner Marie Clark told this news outlet.

The bakery will be located at 200 Shroyer Road, at the Wilmington Pike/Shroyer Road intersection.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches 

A Dallas-based sandwich chain is now hiring for its first Dayton-area restaurant that is coming soon to the Cornerstone of Centerville development.

The menu includes specialty sandwiches such as the “Ultimate BLT,” Philly Cheesesteak, Superfood Wich, Meatball Grinder, Cobb Salad Wrap, Reuben and Gyro.

Wholly Grounds 

A coffee shop is in the works in the South Park neighborhood of Dayton that will also include jazz music, tea and if things go as planned, a dram or two of alcohol for certain coffee drinks.

The new business will be called Wholly Grounds, and it could open as early as April at 825 Wayne Ave. in Dayton. The space previously housed Lindy & Company Gourmet Pet Treats, which moved its operations to South Patterson Boulevard more than a year ago. And the new coffee shop will be next door to what will soon become the city of Dayton’s newest brewery, Branch & Bone Artisan Ales.

IHOP

The Dayton area’s fourth IHOP restaurant is gearing up to open in the coming weeks.

The region’s newest IHOP — at 3324 Benchwood Road in Vandalia, near the Miller Lane/York Commons development — is scheduled to open in mid-March, Jamila Gilbert, spokeswoman for local IHOP franchisee PDG/Prestige Development Group, told this news outlet via email this week.

Gyro Palace 

A restaurant along the busy Brown Street corridor near the University of Dayton has shut down temporarily for renovations and a transition to new ownership.

The owner of The Gyro Room at 1124 Brown St. has sold the business to the Gyro Palace, which operates a restaurant at 57 S. Springboro Pike in Miamisburg at the corner of Ohio 725 and Ohio 741.

The restaurant will reopen as a second location of the Gyro Palace after renovations, Gyro Palace owner Mohamed Redha said. Adding ventilation and equipment to allow the restaurant to cook french fries and other fried foods are a part of the renovation, Redha said.

Plans call for the new Gyro Palace to open in March, “if everything goes smoothly,” the restaurant’s owner said.

Calypso Grill 

The owner of the Sunrise Cafe in Yellow Springs will open a second restaurant with a separate name and concept in the village in the coming weeks.

Renovations are underway at 1535 Xenia Ave. for the Calypso Grill and Smokehouse, serving primarily Caribbean food, according to Sunrise Cafe owner and Calypso Grill founder Brian Rainey. Calypso Grill will open in space that previously housed Dona Margarota’s, a Mexican restaurant that shut down late last year.

Lefty’s Easts & Espresso 

Lawren Williams is shooting for a mid-February opening for Lefty’s Eats & Espresso, his new restaurant and coffee shop that will be located at 2 W. Main St. in Fairborn.

Two days before Christmas, Williams shut down his namesake restaurant, Williams Eatery, which had operated for nearly 10 years at 101 Corry St. in Yellow Springs.

Lefty’s will offer sandwiches, soups and salads, and will include some menu options that go beyond traditional sandwich-shop fare, such as carnitas, lump crabmeat, Santa Fe chicken salad, and a grilled vegetarian sandwich with black beans and quinoa, Williams said. The restaurant will get its breads from Dayton’s Evans Bakery.

Invoke 

The Five Rivers MetroParks 2nd Street Market is adding a new restaurant vendor who has helped develop dishes at some of Dayton’s best-known restaurants.

Invoke, founded by brothers Lester and Larry Gates, will open in early February and will be a full three-day-a-week vendor until the market expands its hours this June to Thursday through Sunday.

The menu will rotate with the seasons, and ingredients will be sourced locally, Gates said.

Invoke’s menu will include classic brunch items such as chicken and waffles — in this case, the waffles will be made from sweet potatoes — along with Eggs Benedict and BLT sandwiches. There will be several vegan options offered, including a BLT with tofu bacon, a “carrot dog,” and vegan cookies and cheesecake, Gates said.

The Florentine 

Clay Alsip and Beth Vanden Berg, the husband-and-wife team that recently purchased the historic Florentine restaurant in Germantown, have big plans for Ohio’s second-oldest inn that dates to 1816.

The restaurant has shut down for minor maintenance and to give the kitchen a deep-cleaning, Alsip and Vanden Berg said. If all goes as planned, the restaurant will be back up and running by mid-February.

Menu highlights include Prime Rib, BBQ Ribs, Orange Roughy, and steaks such as Filet Mignon and New York Strip.

Grind House Coffee and Tea Company 

A locally owned and independent coffee company is scheduled to open its first physical retail shop this spring inside the Huber Heights Meijer store, and the shop’s owner says many more locations are in the works.

A spokesman for Meijer confirmed that Grind House Coffee and Tea Co. — founded in 2015 by Dayton native Bill Miller — will open a coffee shop inside and near the front entrance of the Meijer store at 7150 Executive Blvd., near the I-70/Ohio 201 (Brandt Pike) interchange.

Closing

Williams Eatery 

A Yellow Springs restaurant that served customers for nearly a decade has shut its doors for good as its owner prepares for another restaurant venture.

Williams Eatery at 101 Corry St. closed two days before Christmas, founder Lawren Williams told this news outlet. The restaurant lasted nearly 10 years. Williams said diminishing sales, especially during the winter months, and an expiring lease were the primary factors in his decision to close.

PizzaFire 

The PizzaFire restaurant at 4325 Far Hills Ave. in Kettering, has closed.

Cleveland-based PizzaFire has a fast-serve, built-to-order service line similar to Chipotle and Subway, offering diners the choice of 40 toppings, six sauces, and five cheeses on a pie that is placed into an 800-degree and cooked in three minutes.

About the Author