Construction of the three restaurants — Rue Dumaine will also launch a more casual restaurant called Alligator Annie’s — is to begin later this year, with a target opening of spring 2013 , RG Properties said .
Chris Kershner, vice president of public policy and economic development for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, said the announcement is a reflection of the high quality of Austin Landing project .
The project has already attracted two corporate world headquarters, a law firm, a department store and health care offices.
“You have entities such as these making big investments, and you know they’re looking for a strong quality of life for their employees,” Kershner said. “This development will enhance the quality of life for their work force and for the residents of the Dayton community.”
Serdar Durmusoglu, assistant marketing professor at the University of Dayton who teaches retail marketing, said the mix of retail, commercial and entertainment that is taking shape at Austin Landing follows a “principle of cumulative attraction” that is becoming more common at new developments across the country.
And it offers the area’s residents as well as employees working inside the development’s office buildings a one-stop destination for shopping and entertainment, Durmusoglu said.
The commitments from Rue Dumaine and Dublin Pub will help Austin Landing’s developers
sell the project to other restaurants and prospective commercial tenants, and will provide a bit of leverage in negotiations over lease arrangements with potential tenants, the UD faculty member said.
RG Properties is talking with several other restaurants, targeting small and large chains as well as independents, with a goal of bringing in eight to 10 restaurants total, split evenly between full-service and fast-casual restaurants, the company’s news release said.
RG Properties officials said in an email that the restaurants announcement “is a great step forward in the development, as well as a great economic boon for the region.”
Randy Gunlock, president of RG Properties, said in his company’s news release that it is fitting that the first restaurants to open at Austin Landing will be independents. “There is a great history of creativity and innovation in our city, and a long line of great independent restaurants we want reflected at Austin Landing,” Gunlock said. “Independent restaurants offer a unique experience and reflect the soul of the region — a feeling we hope to capture at Austin Landing.”
Rue Dumaine chef and co-owner Anne Kearney said Friday that the new Rue Dumaine will have expanded bar seating as well as separate dining areas for private parties, which the current restaurant cannot accommodate.
It also will have the kitchen and storage capacity to allow it to serve lunch on weekdays; at its current location, lunch is served only on Fridays. Seating capacity of the new Rue Dumaine’s main dining room will remain about the same as the current restaurant’s 82 seats, Kearney said.
Alligator Annie’s is a concept that Kearney and her husband, Tom Sand, have been contemplating for more than a decade, Kearney said.
It will have televisions allowing customers to watch sporting events and will be more accommodating to young children than Rue Dumaine, and will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The seating capacity hasn’t been determined.
Owners of Dublin Pub in Dayton’s Oregon Historic District will team up with the owners of Archer’s Tavern in Centerville to open a second Dublin Pub , RG Properties officials said. Steve Tieber, co-owner of Dublin Pub, said the newest location will have the same recipes, atmosphere and live music as the Dayton location.
Kendall Goodrich, assistant professor of marketing in Wright State University’s Raj Soin College of Business, said the Austin Landing development will benefit by its proximity to I-75 and to I-675, which expands its potential base of customers.
Goodrich said the new development could siphon customers and possibly tenants from other shopping malls and entertainment centers in the region, including the Dayton Mall, just north of Austin Landing.
But Dave Duebber, the Dayton Mall’s general manager, said he welcomed the latest news about Austin Landing, despite what he acknowledged would be increased competition.
“Competition isn’t always a bad thing,” Duebber said. “We’re looking at this as if we’re not able to attract a new business here, we’d rather have them a mile down the road, because that will make this region stronger. ... Retailers and businesses want to come to an area that’s thriving and growing.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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