Wayne Avenue Kroger property acquired
According to recent Montgomery County property transaction records, property associated with a Kroger store on 1555 Wayne Ave. in Dayton sold for $1.75 million to a California limited liability company.
The 26,806-square-foot store building at 1555 Wayne, built in 1959, with nearly three acres, was part of the sale, along with associated parcels — about twotenths of an acre at 1543 Wayne and just over tenth of an acre on Glencoe Avenue, south of the store.
The buyer, OCV Dayton, is a limited liability company with a Petaluma, Calif. mailing address. The seller was Park Real Estate Investments, a Savannah, Ga. LLC.
The purchasing LLC shares a mailing address with Oak Cap Ventures, which describes itself as a “boutique private entrepreneurial investment group focused on value investing in the net leased retail and shopping center sectors.”
Records gave the sale date as Tuesday.
A Kroger spokeswoman Thursday said the company had nothing to announce regarding the store.
Asked if Kroger plans to keep the store open, Kroger spokeswoman Jennifer Moore responded: “This was an ownership change and we lease the building.”
In August 2020, the property of a Kroger store on Smithville Avenue sold for more than $6 million.
At the time, a Kroger spokeswoman said the company had no immediate plans to close the store. The spokeswoman, Erin Rolfes, added then that Kroger was a tenant on the property, not an owner.
In June 2021, the Dayton Daily News reported that the Kroger stores on Smithville Road in Dayton and Spinning Road in Riverside were to close when the new Woodman Drive Kroger is opened.
PNC chief economist optimistic on economy
PNC Bank’s chief economist offered a mostly optimistic forecast for the national economy, while offering a shout-out to attributes he believes the Dayton metropolitan area has going for it.
Speaking Friday at Carillon Park’s Eichelberger Pavilion as part of PNC’s annual economic forecast breakfast, Augustine Faucher, PNC senior vice president and chief economist, said that while he expects the 19-month national economic recovery to continue, he also sees Dayton poised to take advantage of lower costs and the presence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, even as regional employment struggles to attain pre-pandemic levels.
Among the region’s strengths — recent long-term population growth in the overall metro area, Faucher said.
“I do think that the Dayton region has some significant long-run advantages,” he said.
The city of Dayton lost nearly 3% of its population in the past decade — but slowed its decline compared to previous decades — according to the 2020 Census.
Montgomery County grew by just 2,156 residents from 2010 to 2020, a mere 0.4% increase, but other area counties saw more robust growth. Miami County grew by more than 6,200 residents in that decade, a 6.1% increase; Greene County grew by nearly 6,400 residents, a nearly 4% jump and Warren County showed the strongest growth regionally — more than 29,600 residents, a leap of nearly 14%.
In all, Faucher said he saw evidence of “better demographics” in the Dayton area.
He also pointed to double-digit growth in the price of single-family homes in the region, a trend mostly mirroring what’s going on nationally.
On Friday, the Dayton Realtors trade organization reported that the year-to-date average sale price and median sale price of area homes continued to rise, with the average price reaching $218,927, up 11%, while the median price came in at $185,000, a gain of nearly 9%.
However, employment remains a challenge, locally and nationally. Dayton-area employment is still below
pre-pandemic levels and even down compared to the year 2000, Faucher noted.
New president named for 2 hospitals
Two Dayton-area hospitals with Kettering Health are getting a new president.
Daniel Tryon, now president of Southview Medical Center in Washington Twp., will become the new president of Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek and Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia.
Kettering Health said in a statement that Tryon replaces Richard Haas, who has served in an interim capacity over the last few months while continuing to lead the organization’s market development strategies. The network is searching for a new hospital president for Southview.
Tryon has been with Kettering Health since 2011, when he was hired as business development assistant. He became part of the administrative fellowship program and after that held other roles like director of business development at Grandview Medical Center, executive director and campus administrator for Kettering Health Middletown, and in early 2020, just before the pandemic hit Ohio, he became president of Southview.
Soin had about $187.5 million in net patient review in 2019 and Greene had about $50.3 million in 2019, according to the latest Ohio Health Market Review, which analyzes the Dayton-area hospital and insurance markets.
CareSource acquires company
CareSource has acquired a Pennsylvania-based company that serves agencies that work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges.
CareSource, a Dayton-based insurance company and one of the largest employers downtown, said this is its first major acquisition and “marks another significant step forward in its current growth phase.”
The business it bought is The Columbus Organization, which helps agencies with staffing and regulatory, certification and litigation issues. It is headquartered outside of Philadelphia and employs about 580.
The Columbus Organization was sold to CareSource by a private equity fund HealthEdge Investment Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
CareSource CEO Erhardt Preitauer said in a statement about the acquisition that serving individuals with complex needs “is at the heart of our mission.”
“Acquiring a well-respected
company like The Columbus Organization extends that commitment,” he said.
CareSource has been rapidly growing in recent years, winning major government contracts including re-winning its main contract with Ohio Department of Medicaid.
The insurer’s gross revenue was up to $11.2 billion in 2020, from $10.6 billion the year prior and $7 billion five years prior. CareSource said 9.7% of 2020 revenue went toward administration, which is up from 8.3% reported the year prior
Cost of health insurance to rise
The cost of health insurance for employees rose modestly in 2021, and many companies changed up their benefits with more telemedicine and mental health coverage in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% to average $22,221 this year, according to the annual Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey released this week.
On average, workers this year are paying just under $6,000 $5,969 toward the cost of family coverage, with their employers covering the rest.
The annual change in premiums from 2020 to 2021 roughly matches is in the same ballpark
as the year-to-year rise in workers’ wages (5%) and inflation (1.9%), though what workers and employers pay toward premiums over time has risen more quickly, according to the report.
When looking over the last decade, however, average family premiums have increased 47%, which is more than wages (31%) or inflation (19%).
Scott McGohan, CEO of local benefits brokerage McGohan Brabender, said premiums in the region appear to be going up about 5% to 6% for 2022.
New chicken restaurant coming to Brown Street
Crispy chicken and handmade milkshakes are getting added to Brown Street’s bustling food mix.
Hunny Bee’s Crispy Fried is a new chicken finger, fries and milkshake fast-casual restaurant and drive-thru at 1200 Brown St. Suite 100 next to the University of Dayton campus. An official opening date has not been set, but Joe Niehaus, co-founder and general manager, said they hope to open Hunny Bee’s doors in early December.
The space was most recently a Lee’s Ltd. Tenders & Dips restaurant before closing in July 2020. Though Hunny Bee’s is also a chicken-focused restaurant, Niehaus said they’re optimistic the quality of their food and their efficient, friendly service will make the business a success.
Hunny Bee’s menu is straightforward — crispy fried chicken fingers, “hot fries,” buttery toast and cold milkshakes.
Niehaus is a co-founder of Hunny Bee’s along with the founders of FUSIAN Sushi, who are Hunny Bee’s official owners.
Fusian Sushi was launched in Cincinnati in 2010 by Zach and Josh Weprin and Stephan Harman, who attended Oakwood’s Harman Elementary School and “always talked about going into business together,” Harman told this news outlet in 2011.
New bistro opens in Top of the Market
A brand new place for downtown grub has opened inside Top of the Market.
The Bar & Bistro opened its doors inside the event venue at 32 Webster St. in downtown Dayton Monday. The new restaurant is situated between The Gourmet Deli and The Warehouse event space.
Open Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., The Bar & Bistro compliments the current food offerings inside the market, as The Gourmet Deli is open the same days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The food menu boasts fine-dining options including salmon frites ($20), crab cakes ($18) and chicken quesadilla ($14). A varied starters menu includes fried calamari ($12), Korean style chicken wings ($12), charcuterie board ($24$36) and more.
Craft soda business opens
Three Dayton entrepreneurs have partnered to develop a new craft soda business.
Rock, Paper, Soda is a brand new craft soda brand that launched Thursday at a pop-up food event at Yellow Cab Tavern. Founders of the new soda brand are Brian Johnson, The Pizza Bandit partner, Shane Anderson, Ghostlight Coffee founder and owner, and James Burton, The Pizza Bandit chef and partner.
The founders said they’re going to start off by offering their unique soda creations at local holiday events before starting a wider distribution and collaborative campaign with local bars and restaurants.
“With the rise of interest in non-alcoholic options, we’re very excited to finally get our soda project off the ground,” said Johnson, Rock, Paper, Soda’s head of marketing and sales. “There are so many exciting and delicious ways to approach craft soda. This Thursday we’re launching our first flavor, Orange Winter Chai, a gourmet take on classic orange soda with chai spices and Juniper”
The sodas will be available at a number of pop-up events this holiday season and continuing through the end of the year. In 2022, the brand’s goal to become a reliable, non-alcoholic option for people going out to dinner or to an event will begin.
Johnson said he’s always been intrigued by chefs and bartenders who create unique flavor profiles using their expertise and artisanal ingredients. The founders of Rock, Paper, Soda say they will do the same thing with their soda brand for people striving for a non-alcoholic lifestyle or for soda fans in general.