Vandalia: A great city with great people
This week marks my second month as the city manager of Vandalia. I appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself to the Dayton region and I am thankful for the faith that Mayor Herbst, City Council, and our community has put in me. To the community, I vow to approach this great responsibility with reverence, dedication and an energetic zest for public service.
My wife and I recently moved to Vandalia, and we are excited about the amenities this city offers. We have two young sons who we are confident will love Vandalia’s
parks, recreation center, and high-quality schools. Believe me, this town punches above its weight class.
I come to Vandalia from Fairfield, a 42,000-person suburb of Cincinnati. As the assistant city manager, I helped develop budgets and managed operations. Prior to my time in Fairfield, I served as the director of public safety and service for the city of Norwalk, a county seat with 17,000 residents.
Before pursuing city management as a vocation, I served the United States in the Peace Corps for over three years in the rural Dominican Republic. During this time, I worked hand-in-hand with residents to build mutual respect while generating momentum for community and economic development initiatives. I believe that this toil gave me thick skin, a healthy dose of humility, and a can-do attitude that is necessary for effective service.
These first few weeks, I have been getting up-to-speed on current projects. I have put stock in developing relationships with our team, my new neighbors, and the businesses that make this town a great place to be.
There is dignity in public service that makes it more-than-ajob. I believe that we have a team that is dedicated to meeting the needs of our residents, businesses and visitors.
Later this month, we will be honoring several employees at our annual Employee Service Award luncheon. I must say I am impressed with the quantity of public servants who are celebrating 20-30 years of service to the city of Vandalia.
Their experience and wisdom are invaluable. Their institutional knowledge allows us to provide consistent and dependable service, to offer high-level customer service, and to recognize opportunities to pivot to the evolving needs of our community. Widespread longevity is a beacon that speaks to the great culture here and it doesn’t happen by accident. As an organization, we value the opinions of our employees, empower them to act in our community’s interest, and affirm our commitment to inclusive recruitment practices as new team members join our movement. Join us.
Finally, I’d like to thank those who have gone out of their way to welcome my family and me to Vandalia. We have been touched by the warm greeting we have received, which reinforces our belief that Vandalia is a great city with great people.
Nutmeg Café, a restaurant and coffee shop founded by a local wife-and-husband team, will open on Tuesday, March 9, on State Route 48.
The new eatery is located in a 1,400-square-foot space at 9166 Dayton-Lebanon Pike in Washington Twp., just south of Centerville, in a retail center that includes China Dynasty restaurant and a Sherwin-Williams paint store.
“We’re really excited to serve the area and to offer something unique,” Erin Russ, co-founder along with her husband Bill Russ of Nutmeg Café, said Monday afternoon while showing off what will be the region’s newest independent restaurant
when it opens next week. “We want to offer a break from the world.”
Nutmeg Café has no televisions, just some soft background music, to accompany a breakfast, brunch and lunch menu and specialty
coffee beverages that will be served from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. The restaurant will be closed Mondays.
With COVID-19 restrictions, the café seats 12 now, but that number will expand to 18 to 20 after social-distancing restrictions are lifted, Erin Russ said.
The menu includes broccoli cheddar quiche, chicken pot pie, ham and cheddar quiche, salads, soup and panini-style sandwiches as well as bakery items such as cookies, pastries and tortes. The coffee menu features espresso, macchiatos, cappuccinos and lattes, as well drip, pour-over and coldbrew coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea and iced tea.
Erin Russ said she expects the cinnamon knot pastry to emerge as the café’s signature item. Her husband Bill Russ confided, “I prefer the almond torte, myself.”
Erin Russ says a love of cooking combined with positive experiences while traveling abroad helped drive the Washington Twp. couple to launch their own European-style café.
Erin Russ said her husband’s travels to Europe and other worldwide destinations through his work for a government contract company played a role in the couple’s decision to launch Nutmeg Café. She attended culinary school at the Connecticut Culinary School (now Lincoln Culinary) while the couple was living in Connecticut, and she also worked at an Italian restaurant there, developing and overseeing the restaurant’s fresh-pasta program.
Her husband grew up in Cincinnati, and his job recently brought him back to southwest Ohio from Connecticut.
After the couple’s relocation to Washington Twp., Erin Russ worked for several months at Boosalis Café in the Cross Pointe Centre in Centerville prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted her to review her life’s goals. With her husband’s encouragement, she decided to write up a business plan for Nutmeg Café “and make a dream a reality,” she said.
Nutmeg Café will open with five employees.
The restaurant has already caught the attention of passers-by who are anticipating the café’s opening.
“Quite a few people have stopped by,” Erin Russ said. “They’re excited to have a new espresso option, and they like the food menu and the fact that everything is made in-house.”
The Ohio State Buckeyes will start spring football drills March 19 and plan to play the annual spring game April 17.
Ohio State announced those schedule updates Tuesday. It does not have details yet on how many fans will be able to attend the spring game or if fans will be able to attend at all.
Ohio State’s spring practice season was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic last March, and it did not play a spring game. It returned to workouts in June.
Ohio State finished 6-0 in the Big Ten Conference last season, beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl and then lost to Alabama in the College Football Playoff championship game. The 2021 season starts Sept. 2 with a road game at Minnesota.