Kettering sports bar changes to restaurant-pub

Business
By Mark Fisher
Jan 12, 2012
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KETTERING — The Monkeez Sports Bar that opened nearly a year ago in the former Sports Deck at 3808 Wilmington Pike has closed, and a new owner is preparing to open a restaurant-pub called Buckin’ Donkey Grille at that location.

New owner Sean McKown of Kettering is painting and renovating the structure and said he hopes to open by late January or early February with a new menu and focus.

“I want families to feel comfortable here,” McKown said. “I’m concentrating on being more of a restaurant than a corner bar.”

But Buckin’ Donkey won’t entirely abandon its sports-bar roots: Pittsburgh native McKown said the pub will be a “Steelers Bar” during NFL season Sundays.

McKown has 23 years experience working at several bars and restaurants in the Miami Valley and in Arizona, including Dayton-area establishments Oregon Express, Harrigan’s and Barleycorn’s. He said he has been looking to open his own place for several years. The Buckin’ Donkey menu will include daily specials at both lunch and dinner, along with burgers, sandwiches, Cajun fishes, seafood, vegetarian options and salads. The restaurant will open at 10 a.m. and will serve breakfast all day, McKown said.

Buckin’ Donkey will seat about 90 people, with seating for 50 on a patio. McKown said the new pub will employ up to 20 people. For more information, call the Buckin’ Donkey Grille at (937) 723-7888.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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About the Author

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.