She was granted a permit for a one-story mercantile building in July 1945 at 3618 Linden Ave. at the cost of $25,000.
Many of the articles we found in the archives mention the restaurant opening in 1945. However, we found a Dayton Daily News advertisement from June 1, 1940 announcing its grand opening.
In 1957, Elsa Bonner received a liquor permit that allowed the Linden Ave. restaurant to stay open until 2:30 a.m.
A 1970 article in the Dayton Daily News about Dayton chili restaurants stated that “Elsa’s has been known to adventurous Daytonians for almost a quarter of a century. Elsa is best known for her off-beat Mexican-type foods: Tacos, enchiladas, tostados etc. Her chili may not please all palates. It does have an after-kick ... lingering and lethal, but it’s full-bodied and rich. And plentiful. So are the celloed-saltines. Seconds and thirds, if you desire.
“Ya gotta know Elsa to appreciate even more her chili, for Elsa’s bowl o’ red is just like Elsa herself. Delightfully, deliciously brusque. Impishly impertinent.”
Elsa was running the restaurant well into her 80s. She died in 1980 at the age of 91.
By 1975 the restaurant had trouble finding help and was often closed. After being shuttered for months of “remodeling and refurbishing,” it reopened that year.
A group of local attorneys including John Kessler, Dick Hunt, Bill Hemmert and Joe Dorsten bought the defunct Elsa’s Place in 1979. The restaurant took on new management and was renamed Elsa’s Mexican Restaurant.
By 1997, Elsa’s had three locations and the sole owner was Bill Hemmert. The three restaurants were located in Fairborn, Centerville and Dayton at the original restaurant on Linden Avenue
Today, there are six Elsa’s locations which can be found HERE.
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