Tipp o’ the Town sold; Taco Bell replacing it

The Tipp o’ the Town Family Restaurant property at 1150 W. Main St. in Tipp City has been bought, and the new owners intend to demolish the existing structure and build a new eatery.

But it won’t be called Tipp o’ the Town. Instead, it will be called “Taco Bell.”

Paul Laubier, owner of Tipp o’ the Town, shut down the restaurant Dec. 31.

The company that owns the Taco Bell on the east side of the Interstate 75-Ohio 571 interchange had the equivalent of first dibs on the property on the west side of the interchange — an option to purchase that extended through mid-January, Laubier said. If no deal was finalized during that time frame, Laubier said a second, unidentified buyer was interested in purchasing the property, and had indicated to Laubier that the restaurant would likely reopen as Tipp o’ the Town.

Laubier said Wednesday night that the Taco Bell-connected company had exercised its purchase option, and plans to build a relocated Taco Bell on the site.

The Tipp o’ the Town Family Restaurant was a community mainstay for almost 30 years. The building has housed a restaurant since the mid-1960s, when an Aunt Jemimah’s Pancake House opened there, and it has had stints as Calico Kitchen, Ye Old Family Inn and Cindy’s.

Now 66, Laubier said it was time for him to retire. But he said the “Tipp o’ the Town” business name and the restaurant’s recipes are still for sale.