Meadow View garden center to close after 40 years; customers make last visits
Meadow View Growers, a large, well-known garden center just south of New Carlisle, announced it would be closing.
Meadow View has operated on Ohio 235 for 40 years, most of that time under the Robinson family, which established the business in 1984. Jeff Pack bought Meadow View in 2018 and has run the garden center since then.
“The time has come to turn the page, and while this decision has not come easily, it is the correct one,” Pack posted on Facebook. “While the business as it currently stands will close, we still have an abundance of beautiful and healthy plants, so we invite you to come in and start or expand your garden.”
Big Lots to close 315 stores, including sites in Montgomery, Butler counties
Big Lots Inc. is ramping up the number of stores it plans to close nationwide, and this time those numbers include stores in Montgomery and Butler counties.
Among eight Ohio stores scheduled for closure are stores at 359 Miamisburg Centerville Road in Washington Twp. and 7779 Tylersville Road in West Chester Twp. The company also plans to close a location just south of Butler County at 11372 Princeton Pike in Springdale, nearly a mile south of Interstate 275.
The Columbus-based retailer in June said it expected to close as many as 40 stores this year, but those numbers swelled to 150 in the past month and then ballooned to 315, according to a July 31 Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Toasted Brunch Bar + Cafe, a new restaurant concept by El Toro, to open at Mall at Fairfield Commons
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek is welcoming three new tenants to its lineup including a new restaurant concept specializing in traditional American and internationally fused breakfast, lunch and dinner options.
Toasted Brunch Bar + Cafe, a new concept by the owners of El Toro, is planned to open this fall in the former space of Melt Bar & Grilled.
“Through our U.S. and international travels, we have had the opportunity to experience unique flavors that have not been explored in this area,” said Enrique Alvarez, El Toro’s district manager. “We are excited to welcome guests and share our passion for food with everyone.”
Owner of Speedway store chain gets takeover bid from Canada’s Couche-Tard
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The owner of 7-Eleven and Speedway convenience stores has received a buyout offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Japan’s Seven & i Holdings on Monday said that a special committee that made up of outside directors has been formed to review the bid, but released no other details.
“This potential takeover bid is a huge deal. 7-Eleven is the biggest operator in the US convenience retail store space with a 14.5% share of the market in 2023,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. “By comparison, Alimentation Couche-Tard’s banners had a 4.6% market share. So, combining the two would produce an entity that controls almost a fifth of the market.”
Trolley Stop owner says it’s time to move on, puts bar up for sale
Robin Sassenberg, owner of the Trolley Stop in Dayton’s historic Oregon District, said that she faces some health challenges — and she’s ready for the next chapter in her life.
The Trolley Stop, 530 E. Fifth St., billed as the “oldest tavern in Dayton,” is for sale. The asking price is $900,000, according to the BizBuySell web site.
“I’m the only owner left,” Robin Sassenberg said. “I have cancer. I’m on chemo. My husband died. I have heart problems. And I don’t have anybody to hand this off to.”
We compared grocery prices at 5 Dayton-area stores: Here’s what we found
As part of a recent article on how inflation is affecting grocery prices in the area, we went to five Dayton-area grocery stores to see how prices compared. We checked prices for several popular items, including bread, milk, produce, and dairy.
For each product, we either used the cheapest store brand or one specific name brand, such as Land o’ Lakes or Wonder Bread. An asterisk by a price means we didn’t find the name brand for a product, and substituted a store brand.
New owner of Red Carpet Tavern: ‘It means a lot to me because it truly is my neighborhood bar’
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
If you would have asked Dayton native Tony Ballard earlier this year if he would own a restaurant and bar in the future, he would have said, “not in a million years.”
That all changed in early July when he became the new owner of Red Carpet Tavern, located at 3301 Wayne Ave. in Dayton’s Belmont neighborhood.
Ballard has lived in the Belmont neighborhood for nearly 11 years.
“I literally live one minute from here,” Ballard said. “Because this bar is in my own neighborhood, it means a lot to me because it truly is my neighborhood bar. I want to make this the best neighborhood bar in Dayton and be known as the hidden gem of the Gem City.”
With $95M investment on the table, Dayton named 2nd Ohio ‘Innovation Hub’
With the promise of an investment of up to $95 million from state, local and private partners, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently visited the University of Dayton to name Dayton as the state’s second “Innovation Hub.”
With $35 million from the Ohio Innovation Hubs program, as well as $23 million from local governments and a hoped-for private-sector investment of up to $37 million, the plan calls for an advanced, secure 120,000-square-foot building on 38 acres on the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
The new building and the activity drawn there will create an estimated 2,000 jobs, generating some $500 million in new research revenue by the year 2031, advocates of the project say.
Wiley’s Comedy Club to host final show in September
Credit: Lynch, Gregory
Credit: Lynch, Gregory
Wiley’s Comedy Club will host its final show in September after 42 years of serving laughs to the Dayton community.
“Please join us for our last show to celebrate 42 years of laughter and help us say goodbye to a Dayton Icon,” an email from the comedy club stated. “Thank you for your generosity and support over the years, we could not have done it without our amazing customers!”
The Farewell Show at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7 is expected to include a lineup of Wiley’s favorites. Tickets for the show will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 9 via wileyscomedy.com. Tickets will be $25 and only available online.
Kettering puts 16-month ban on new gas stations, convenience stores, car washes
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Kettering has placed a 16-month ban on certain new businesses that include convenience stores and gas stations, a move the mayor says is rooted in a rejected Sheetz plan last year.
The moratorium halts the city accepting “zoning applications and granting of zoning approvals for vehicle fueling or recharging establishments, kiosks, automobile washing establishments, convenience stores, and/or small box discount stores.”
More than a dozen Sheetz and Wawa locations have been proposed in the Dayton region in the past two years. Eight Sheetz sites have opened, including ones in Beavercreek, Fairborn, Franklin, Huber Heights, Springboro, Springfield and Vandalia.