MANY MOURNING ‘ZOMBIE’ CLOSING
Owner says he will continue to operate popular food truck.
A Dayton business that earned a cultlike following for its gourmet hot dogs is one of the latest eateries to close permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is just a huge punch in the gut,” David VanArtsdalen said of closing Zombie Dogz, his restaurant at 1200 Brown St. “I feel like I let a ton of people down. I feel terrible. This is not what I want to do, but I can’t go on. I can’t do it.”
The Zombie Dogz food truck will continue to operate.
“That’s what made us. That’s what people fell in love with,” he said. “We are closing this, but we are not done for good.”
The food truck consistently wins first or second place in Dayton.com’s Best of Dayton food truck and best hot dog categories. The restaurant employed 13 people. About five employees will be
needed for the food truck.
Most of the events the truck was expected to appear at have been canceled, so VanArtsdalen said it is up in the air when that business will resume. In an earlier message posted to the business’ Facebook page, VanArtsdalen said that the business had struggled for about a year.
Being shut down due to the coronavirus made the situation worse. VanArtsdalen told the Dayton Daily News that the business is nearly three months behind in rent.
“We don’t have any other option (than to close),” he said. “We didn’t get any assistance from anybody. We never had a business loan. It was all out-of-pocket.”
Miller Valentine Group Realty Services, the owner of University Place, agreed to terminate the restaurant’s lease after VanArtsdalen said he told representatives he was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy.
The Zombie Dogz food truck launched about four years before the restaurant and was one of the first to transition to a store front.
“It is terrible,” he said, adding he will avoid social media because he cannot bear to read the comments. “This is something that has been blood, sweat and tears eight years as a business, and four years as a restaurant.”
Local residents expressed sorrow that the restaurant is closed.
“I’ve loved you guys for years and been following you since the early days of the truck. I always tried to come down and support the restaurant as well,” Facebook user Billie Helton wrote. “I’m sorry to see that go, but I guess I can look forward to chasing down the truck on weekends again. No matter what, Zombie Dogz in any form will always be one of my favorite parts of our little city. Good luck to you guys; I will see you soon.”