Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“I always wanted to start the restaurant back up,” owner Jasmine Brown said. “I was just waiting on the timing.”
Brown opened the restaurant in 2010 with her husband, Willie Hutson, who passed away six years ago. She told Dayton.com they opened the restaurant because they were foodies and wanted to bring food from their travels to the Dayton area.
“When we opened De’Lish, no one was doing chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, eggrolls and fried lobster,” Brown said.
When the restaurant closed in 2018, Brown became a stay-at-home mom. She said when her son went to college, that’s when she realized she needed to get a job. She ultimately decided she would rather work for herself.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
In 2020, Brown started selling egg rolls at The Entrepreneurs Marketplace on N. Williams Street in Dayton and eventually bought a food truck that same year. When the opportunity to have a spot in the food hall came about, she said it made “perfect sense.”
“I’m happy to bring something to this community,” Brown said. “My grandmother and my family, they grew up on Broadway right down the street when they were younger. I recently learned about my grandmother and my aunt (having) food carts. (They sold) cakes, pies and (other) food to all of the factories.”
Brown now lives right across the street from the food hall.
Customers can expect their favorites to be on the De’Lish menu including egg rolls, wings and shrimp and grits. Brown said she will also have a wide variety of vegan options and a weekly special. Many of the ingredients Brown uses are from local vendors.
“To be able to bring food to this neighborhood where there is no food is very important to me,” she said.
Brown described the food hall as a close-knit family that is working together to bring something big to West Dayton.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
“It’s exciting to be in an environment where people are just as excited as you are and they want you to win just as much as you want them to win,” Brown said.
W. Social Tap & Table, located at 1100 W. Third St., is a joint venture between Wright Dunbar Inc. and Dillin Corp. The $2.1 million project will transform a former conference center into a food hall with a bar and five other independent businesses including Grind House Coffee & Tea Co., The Lumpia Queen, SOCA, ILLYS Fire Pizza and Taco Street Co.
For more information on W. Social Tap & Table, visit the food hall’s Facebook page.
**Please note this is one of seven stories featuring tenants in W. Social Tap & Table**
About the Author
