Week in review: El Rancho Grande owner wins award
The man who oversees more than a dozen Mexican restaurants in southwest Ohio was named the 2018 “Outstanding Restaurateur of the Year” for the southern part of the state on Sunday by the Ohio Restaurant Association, which said the award honors leaders who “implement innovative ideas and demonstrate passion for the industry and their community.”
The award went to Gary Rodriguez, president of operations for El Rancho Grande, which operates 14 restaurants throughout the Dayton-Cincinnati region.
Rodriguez also oversaw the November 2018 opening of La Guadalupana Super Market and Restaurant, located at 5450 Burkhardt Road in the Spin-Kemp Shopping Center. The international grocery and restaurant is affiliated with El Rancho Grande.
In 2017, El Rancho Grande opened a new restaurant in a former Applebee’s location on West Dorothy Lane in Kettering, and relocated a restaurant from Poe Avenue in Vandalia to Old Troy Pike in Huber Heights, in space that previously housed a LaRosa’s Pizza restaurant.
The chain also has an affiliation with the new Rancheros Cocina Mexicana that opened in late 2018 in the Cross Pointe Centre in Centerville.
Old Scratch to build second location
It was in October 2017 around the time of his restaurant’s first anniversary that Eric Soller, co-founder with his wife Stephanie of Old Scratch Pizza in Dayton, first acknowledged that the owners were contemplating adding a second location of their successful Naples-style pizza restaurant.
“We think we’ve created a (concept) that would work in a lot of other places,” Soller told this news outlet at the time. Still, he said he was in no hurry, and would be selective: “If we go somewhere, we’ll have to keep the soul of Old Scratch Pizza,” he said.
Fast-forward 15 months, and Soller believes he has found just the right spot: a small strip-retail center that currently houses Centerville Home Fireplace & Patio at 440 Miamisburg-Centerville Road just west of Centerville in Washington Twp.
Independent and locally owned Old Scratch Pizza serves Naples-style pizzas cooked in wood-fired ovens, as well as salads and a few specialty items. It features a variety of craft beers on tap as well as a wine and cocktail list. The atmosphere is casual, with seating in the dining area provided by picnic tables.
The newest Old Scratch Pizza will occupy 8,300 square feet of the retail center, a space slightly larger than Old Scratch’s flagship restaurant at 812 S. Patterson Blvd. just south of downtown Dayton. Soller said a second, smaller space in the center will continue to be occupied by a podiatrist’s office, and he’ll be looking for a tenant for a vacant third space that previously housed a Planet Smoothie shop.
Jeff Steeprow, owner of Centerville Home Fireplace & Patio, said he is in the midst of a store-closing, 50 percent-off sale, and has no plans of relocating the business. Steeprow said he expects to shut down in mid-February. The store opened in 2012.
Soller said he is shooting for a late-summer opening. The new Old Scratch Pizza will seat as many as 200 and will employ about 60. The current restaurant has 58 employees.
Special menu at Butter Cafe
Butter Cafe, the independent restaurant that has operated for eight-and-a-half years on Brown Street near the University of Dayton campus, wants to help new and returning customers keep their new year’s resolutions.
The breakfast-and-lunch destination at 1106 Brown St. in Dayton is offering a special menu for the rest of January (and maybe longer, for dishes that prove to be popular) that fit snugly into many several popular diets, from Keto to Paleo and beyond. Most of the new options are vegan or gluten-free, or can be made so, said Butter Cafe co-founder Amy Beaver.
Beaver said the restaurant has no intention of abandoning its comfort-food concept, but wants to help customers stick to their diets in a delicious way.
Butter Cafe chef Kendall Reeves said the response so far to the special health menu has been positive.
“We’re trying to be helpful, and people appreciate that,” Reeves said.
Chico’s, White House Black Market to close hundreds of stores
Hundreds of Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma stores will close over the next three years.
The retailer is looking to renew focus on its omnichannel presence and balance its store portfolio. The closings will be weighted in the second and third years of the process to take advantage of expiring leases, the company said in a release.
The 250 store closings are part of a larger plan to cut costs and increase efficiency across the brands. There are more than 1,400 stores across the three brands.
It also adjusted fourth quarter earnings with lower than expected net sales across the brands. Net sales are now expected to decrease in the low double digits rather than a mid-teens decline.
“Our focus is on implementing those initiatives that drive the greatest levels of growth and profitability of our business,” said Chico’s CEO and president Shelley Broader.
There are Chico’s stores at the Oakwood Centre in Dayton, The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek and Liberty Center in Liberty Twp., among several in the Cincinnati and Columbus regions. The company also has White House Black Market locations at The Greene, Liberty Center, Jefferson Tanger Outlets and several in Cincinnati and Columbus. Soma stores are open at The Greene, Liberty Center and elsewhere in Cincinnati and Columbus.
This news organization has reached out to Chico’s to determine how the closures will effect Ohio stores.
New Burlington store opening needs workers
The Huber Heights Burlington store is now hiring for its upcoming grand opening.
The retailer, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, has several job postings online for receiving associates and supervisors, sales associates, loss prevention and customer service.
About 40 employees will be needed for the new store, a Burlington spokeswoman previously told this news organization.
The new store at 5545 Executive Blvd., previously an hh gregg location, will open in March, according to the listings.
Anyone interested in the jobs can apply online and attend a job fair Jan. 23 and Jan. 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Drury Inn and Suites at 6616 Miller Lane in Dayton.
This news organization first reported the store would open in June last year.
Burlington is an off-price apparel and home retailer with 567 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. There are three stores currently in the Dayton area, five in the Cincinnati area and two stores in the Columbus region.
New bridal store opens in Centerville
Dress For A Day Bridal Boutique, which opened in Centerville at 33 W. Franklin St., sells wedding gowns and some flower girl and First Communion dresses at prices 50 to 70 percent less than traditional retailers, said co-owner Rachelle Spencer. Some gowns come from big-name designers like Maggie Sottero and Romona Keveza.
Most gowns in the store range from $450 to $1,800 to buy or $199 to $300 to rent.
The discounted dresses come from suppliers who are retiring gowns or liquidating merchandise. They may also be overstock or floor models that have been tried on, but never worn for an event.
“Brides are many times on a budget, and there’s a lot of things to buy during the wedding period,” Spencer said. “Their gown is very important to them. But they may not want to spend a great deal on that.”
The business emerged from M&R Wedding Photography, a husband-wife duo. Spencer and husband Martin Huffstutler operate both businesses together.
“During the course of doing some of our photo shoots, we had acquired a few wedding gowns,” Spencer said. “And then we started kicking around the idea of possibly renting and selling them.”
Now the pair has more than 400 discounted gowns for sale and 100 available for rent in the 1,300 square-foot store. They also use a warehouse to store gowns that don’t fit in the store.
Before every appointment, Spencer and Huffstutler consult over the phone with a bride to determine what dresses to pull in advance from the warehouse and store.
“We want to try to really individualize the service, really try to listen to the bride and really try to help them find something that makes them feel good about their day, helps make them feel beautiful,” Spencer said.
To schedule an appointment, visit the website or call 937-303-8881.