When Centerville chefs Patrick and Casey VanVoorhis relocated their restaurant to the corner of Fifth and Ludlow streets from the edge of the Oregon District in early 2021, the idea was to expand their business.
The work is a calling for the married couple.
“Running a restaurant is a labor of love. It is long days, tough hours, stress, pressure, excitement, anxiety, everything you can think of,” Patrick said. “Being an owner is all of that turned up to 11. Some days you get to cook, some days you have to fix the plumbing. It is not for everyone and my wife and I always say we could not do it without one and other. We have a great team that supports us as well. Whenever a guest comes in and says ‘they loved everything’ or ‘we will be coming back’ it makes all of that worth it.”
The dine-in and grab-and-go spot in the space features salads, sandwiches and desserts for lunch and elevated dinner options that revolve around the fresh pastas, bread and sauces they have become known for. Their journey to this moment began on the west coast.
“The story of Grist is a culmination of our time spent cooking together in California and that journey leading us here. Casey and I were co-executive chefs of two restaurants in Healdsburg, California when Grist first became an idea. I was rolling pasta for a busy night of service and Casey was getting some prep done when I had a thought... I turned to her and said, ‘wouldn’t it be awesome if we could make pasta and bread for other restaurants and just do that all day?
“Six months later we were moving to Dayton to bring that idea to life. What Grist has become has truly been organic in growth and always with our identity in mind,” Patrick said.
But an idea does not a successful restaurant make. It was skill, training and experience that built the foundation for them.
“My wife and I both come from competitive sports backgrounds and Culinary seemed to fill that need. We met in Culinary School at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. We finished school, worked at the school for a bit, and then traveled to San Francisco to immerse ourselves in the world of fine dining,” Patrick said.
“We worked at some great Michelin-starred restaurants and ran some restaurants together before coming back here to open Grist I think our experience has always been focused on creating an environment where guests feel at home.
“We pride ourselves on treating everyone who chooses to come to our shop with that mindset. Opening for dinner was not something we had planned in the space we are currently in, but we had so many requests that we sat down and figured out how to make it work. The dinner experience is not your standard restaurant experience with servers waiting on you which is tough in some aspects but our space limits our abilities and we make the best with what we have available. We are so grateful that guests have accepted and adapted to that.”
Both dine in, carry-out and grab and go provisions have been unfailingly delectable, unflinchingly fresh and deeply gratifying over the years with this charming destination.
Credit: Staff
Credit: Staff
Favorite meals over the years have included a grilled squid salad with rose peaches, charred avocado, toasted hazelnut, endive and ricotta; a sweet corn sformato (similar to a soufflé, but less delicate and more versatile topped with heirloom tomato relish, Parmesan, truffle foam and chives; a butter poached shrimp with capers aleppo pepper and nori crumb on a bucatini pasta, their fantastic short rib and those housemade meatballs that I can’t resist.
“We change our menus constantly. With every season, with changes in what we can get from certain farms to specialty products that we don’t always have access to. We try to keep some staples on each menu for the seasons, but enjoy featuring great products and pride ourselves on not offering something with spring peas on it in the middle of December,” said Patrick. “I like to think that doing the same thing day in and day out can become stale and menus at restaurants are no exception. While some may find that going to a restaurant and getting the same thing every time can be comforting, I enjoy trying new things and try to bring that same perspective to our menu. Every menu item we make may not knock your socks off, but it makes those few items that do all the more memorable. In addition, the seasons dictate a lot of that and it gives you something to look forward to.”The seasonal menus they offer do a tremendous job of reflecting the flavors of the season. Appetizers on the dinner menu include a smoked trout soup ($11), smoked beets with a pear and honey gel, gorgonzola dolce espuma with persimmon and pine nuts ($13) and a mushroom pâté ($14) topped with fried capers, pickled shallot and thyme served with toasted ciabatta. Dinner options include a savory vegetarian friendly Tortelli di Zucca filled with a roasted squash filling, with brown butter, crispy sage, mostarda di mantovana and topped with pecorino Romano ($21). A walnut and taleggio risotto highlighted by a pickled pear and a pear reduction topped with crispy prosciutto ($24) is a lovely application of the pears you can find this time of year.A rich, savory 72-hour braised beef served with creamy polenta has the punch of a sun-dried tomato gremolata and the lovely surprise of crispy fried shallots to elevate interest to the already mouthwatering dish ($29). For seafood lovers the star of the show is a Casarecce Della Mare featuring spiced shrimp, clams, leek and spinach ($25).
“Sometimes the concept of ‘specials’ makes me smile. The reality of a special in a restaurant is that nine times out of ten, it’s a product that didn’t sell or was left over from a special event and you try to turn it into something you can sell before it goes bad. With that in mind, we don’t run specials. Now, every so often, a special could be inspired by an amazing product a local farm just picked, and with that, we do create things like that when we can,” said Patrick. “Our philosophy when it comes to food is to treat it with respect and sincerity. We create and grow constantly and always strive for great results.”
He reports that the holidays were “amazing” and that they were braced and ready for the typical tough January that local restaurants face this time of year.For 2025 they are focused on continuing to expand their retail products and cooking classes which have grown in popularity. Some of the new classes they are looking to feature include a BBQ class, chocolate and bon bons, and specialty desserts. Besides their food the other consistent has been their ability to innovate and embrace change and growth.
“We opened in 2018 in a small shared kitchen space right next to Wheat Penny in a building that, at the time, was being called District Provisions. We only sold wholesale pasta and bread and had some fresh sauces for retail. COVID happened right as we signed a lease on our new space, My wife was also pregnant with our Daughter and we had just bought a new house. Needless to say, it was a stressful time. We opened in our current location Valentine’s Weekend, 2021,” Patrick said.
Today they are in a restaurant with 40 seats that is consistently bustling and full. In September Patrick won the Diced in Dayton competition for a lasagna that had all of the flavors of an Enchilada. The Chef’s challenge, similar to the Food Network reality series “Chopped,” is a fundraiser for Miami Valley Meals. The mystery box he received had chicken, tomatillos, polenta and radishes. It was more proof that it doesn’t matter if it’s a slow build or a quick one — he and his team have the chops. The highlight for them of 2024 was being able to take their staff to Italy to learn and grow as a team.It’s that kind of heart, passion, curiosity and continuing education that has fueled their success.
“Food is a catalyst for everything that we find important in life. Family, friends, celebrations, milestones ... we love to help cater to those experiences as well as be at the heart of all of those things for our family and friends. Every single guest that comes to see us is allowing that and we hope to make it worthwhile. Making something that is delicious is really a small part of welcoming someone into our space and making them feel at home,” said Patrick. “The support and community we have been blessed with have been incredible and we love working with other restaurants in the area. Downtown is growing and we are glad to be a part of it.”
HOW TO GO
What: Grist
Where: 46 W. 5th St., Dayton
Hours: Lunch is served 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Dinner is served 5 p.m.-p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Take it home: A variety of fresh pasta, sauce, pastries and bread, are available for purchase to take home. Fresh egg pasta, stuffed pasta, noodle pasta and short-cut pasta are all typically available to take home and cook with. Staple sauces like their wild mushroom ragu, bolognese, pesto, brown butter, and Calabrian tomato sauce are almost always available. The average cost is about $4 per serving of pasta and $7 per sauce. Two servings of fresh pasta, sauce for those two servings, and a loaf of fresh Focaccia bread come in at around $20.
Other services: Cooking classes are offered on Sundays. They do offer some catering, but it is limited as they are not built to do large events.
More info: 937-802-4544 or http://eatgrist.com
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