New cafe with coffee, elevated American cuisine opens Thursday in Dayton

Owners Greg Innocent, Chris Cheng and Taylor Moberly want to be known for great coffee and equally great hospitality.

“It’s coffee reimagined,” Innocent said. “We really want people to experience coffee in a way that it’s connected to the people they encounter when they are here.”

Moberly, a Piqua native with about 10 years of experience in the coffee industry, will head the cafe’s coffee program. She said customers can expect a core menu of drinks typically found in every coffee shop as well as seasonal beverages and a trendy menu highlighting popular drinks on TikTok.

In addition to coffee, customers can expect elevated American cuisine with an egg sandwich expected to be the star of the show during breakfast. The menu also includes waygu burgers, salads, wings and more.

I stopped by the cafe Sept. 28 and sampled the egg sandwich, fig toast with ricotta cheese and the wings. The egg sandwich featured a really good sauce with a mild kick and the fig toast was a nice, light dish. The wings were my favorite from the seasoning to the sauce.

“We view this place as if it was a gastro cafe experience where the food is going to be a little more elevated than your typical coffee shop,” Innocent said.

miDDay is expected to not only have breakfast and lunchtime vibes, but be a place for a “pick me up.” The cafe will also be open for dinner.

“We want to be that space for people to meet up, create connections here and create connections with us,” Moberly said.

The owners also plan to open a speakeasy in the back of the building. Good Impressions, expected to open early next year, will be a very intimate space with about 35 to 40 seats. The owners plan to push the envelope in terms of the experience.

miDDay will be open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. For more information and updates, visit middaydayton.com or the cafe’s Instagram page (@midday_dayton).