Chicka Wings to take over Wiley’s Wings location
Almost exactly one year after its debut, Wiley’s Wings Tenders Fries in Huber Heights has closed its doors for the last time.
Wiley’s co-founder, Kelly Gray, along with her partner, Ray Wiley, confirmed the restaurant at 6315 Brandt Pike (Ohio 201) closed for the last time on Jan. 28. The restaurant opened last year on Jan. 27.
Gray and Wiley are also the founders and former owners of the locally based restaurant chains Hot Head Burritos and Rapid Fired Pizza. In Oct. last year, the couple sold the Rapid Fired Pizza company to Pie Guys Restaurants LLC based in South Carolina, though Gray and Wiley are still the licensees of two Rapid Fired locations in the Dayton area.
Soon after Wiley’s closure in Huber Heights, Gray and Wiley sold the space to the co-founders of a brand new fast-casual, chicken restaurant concept, Chicka Wings. The new restaurant will simultaneously open a second Chicka Wings location in Springfield.
Chicka Wings founder Adam Price, a Dayton transplant from Alabama, and Chicka Wings vice president, Kyle Smith, a Vandalia native, expect the restaurant to be ready to open as soon as next month. Price and Smith, also brother-in-laws, say they want to serve the community, and “take-off on their own.”
Silver Slipper opens in downtown Dayton
There’s a new, sparkly place near downtown Dayton to wine down and even chow on oysters.
Silver Slipper wine bar held its grand opening Friday at 1105 Wayne Ave. in Dayton. In the works since founders Lorelei Fink and Simon Gifford came into ownership of the building in 2019, the bar has held some private events and pop-up markets while waiting for the approval of its liquor permit.
After finally receiving that approval on New Year’s Eve 2021, Silver Slipper is ready to fully open its establishment to oyster and wine connoisseurs in Dayton. It is one of the rare spots to enjoy oysters in the area.
In addition to its curated wine menu, the bar will feature a few select beers on its menu as well as a mocktail option. The oyster menu is the culinary focal point of the bar to start, but in the future, Gifford said they will expand to include charcuterie, fish en papillote, salads and more.
Though the name implies a dress code type of establishment, Fink and Gifford said Silver Slipper will be walk-in only with a “real casual bar style.” For more information on the bar or how to book the space for private events, visit thesilverslipper.club.
Bubble tea shop to open in Troy
A brand new bubble tea shop is preparing to open in Troy this spring with unique offerings in store.
“OH! boba” is a new
bubble tea, or boba tea, shop slated to open around the first week of May. In the meantime, it’s open at Troy’s Popup at Main event on Thursdays and some Saturdays through April. Follow the pop-up event’s Facebook page to stay informed about the shop’s next appearance.
Owners Jess Justice of Germantown, QQ Qiang of Centerville and Ting Shi of Miamisburg all moved from China to the U.S. at different times between 1998 and 2017, then later met and grew closer through different friends. The trio’s mission is to create a boutique-style milk tea shop that will bring people together, create personal connections, and make memories.
The tea shop’s brick and mortar will be located at 217 SE Public Square in Troy, next to Haren’s Market on Troy’s Public Square.
In recent years, several standalone bubble tea shops have started popping up across the Miami Valley, though OH! boba will take the bubble tea craze a step further with boba-inspired food options.
The shop’s current menu includes freshly brewed tea, milk tea, fruit tea and bubble waffle — a snack made from a waffle custard flavored batter and cooked in machines with a special egg-shaped mold.
AES Ohio has rebates for electric vehicle charging sites
AES Ohio has $5.1 million available for electric vehicle charging rebates, paid on a first-come firstserve basis for qualifying projects, the Dayton area’s
electric utility said Thursday.
Eligible chargers include Level 2 and DC fast chargers.
Level 2 chargers can be installed at workplaces, apartment complexes or in areas available to the public. Fast chargers must be installed in areas available to the public, the utility said.
All chargers must have the ability to record and send data to AES Ohio, the utility stipulated.
“Our region has a great track record of automotive innovation,” Zac Elliot, AES US utilities portfolio lead, electrification, said in a release. “Now, our EV charger rebates can help deliver the power needed for the next generation of transportation.”
AES Ohio, the former Dayton Power & Light, cited U.S. Department of Energy data, saying electric vehicles emit approximately half the emissions per mile than similar conventional vehicles, and Ohio EV drivers spend the equivalent of less than $1.10 per gallon.
For information on how to apply, visit aes-ohio. com/evse-rebate-program or email evcharger@aes. com.
Properties purchased in Wright-Dunbar
A limited liability company has purchased several properties and parcels in the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood of West Dayton in what could the first steps of a new reinvestment in that part of the city.
For $500,000 Wright Dunbar REH LLC bought properties from 1159 to 1175 W. Third St., near the corner of Third and North Broadway Street,
according to Montgomery County property records.
The seller was listed as Slyvia Blum, a trustee for Hyman Blum. The sale date was recorded as Wednesday.
Last May, the city of Dayton considered a Community Reinvestment Area tax exemption with Wright Dunbar REH for these same properties. Such exemptions are meant to encourage investment in low- to moderate-income locales.
Cheryl Dillin, chief brand officer of developer Dillin LLC — the company which has worked with Wright Dunbar Inc. on plans for those sites — said she couldn’t discuss the purchase Thursday.
Dayton Freight plans new location in Union
Montgomery County Transportation Improvement District (TID) planners agreed Monday to approve a development pact with freight carrier Dayton Freight, which has plans to build a 211,770-square-foot facility in Union.
TID trustees approved a development agreement with Dayton Freight which will lead to the construction of a new facility on the north side of Old Springfield Road, said Steve Stanley, the improvement district’s executive director.
The site will be an operating facility for Dayton Freight where vehicles will be serviced, Stanley said. He could not immediately say how many people will be employed there.
The property in question was owned by city of Dayton within the city of Union, Stanley said. As a result of a recent settlement between those two
cities, the land is now in the process of being sold to Dayton Freight, he said.
The company wants to commence construction as early as March, with work completed next year, Stanley said.
In November last year, Dayton leaders weighed selling 32 acres of land near Dayton International Airport to a company called Stream’s Edge Properties LLC as the potential buyer. Streams Edge and Dayton Freight have an executive in common.
The property is located along the north side of the 3000 block of Old Springfield, west of Peters Pike. The land is northwest of the airport.
The 40-year-old freight company, headquartered at 6450 Poe Ave., has more than 5,000 employees and nearly 4,300 trailers.
Anthony Rocco, Dayton Freight’s chief operating officer, told the Dayton Daily News last year that his company’s industry segment is the time-sensitive “less than truckload” or LTL market. Sometimes, his drivers are able to unload their relatively small deliveries themselves, Rocco said at the time.
Sephora to add 3 Kohl’s locations
Sephora, a national beauty store chain, will be added to Kohl’s department stores in Sugarcreek Twp., Huber Heights, and Miamisburg in 2022, according to a statement from Kohl’s. That’s on the heels of similar moves at the Beavercreek and Troy Kohl’s stores last year.
Sephora locations will be opening within the Kohl’s stores at 6400 Wilmington Pike in Sugarcreek
Twp., 8301 Troy Pike in Huber Heights, and 10800 Innovation Drive in Miamisburg this year. No firm opening dates have been announced.
Introduced in fall 2021, Sephora at Kohl’s features a 2,500-square-foot area that mimics the look and feel of a freestanding Sephora.
These local additions are three of the 30 total Sephora in Kohl’s locations opening across Ohio this year. Sixteen locations opened throughout the state in 2021.
All Sephora at Kohl’s locations aim to provide a “fully immersive beauty experience” with the help of trained beauty advisors offering personalized consultations, assistance with finding products, along with testing and discovery zones for new or trending products, the company said.
Carvana hiring 1,000 workers for Trenton location
Now that one of Butler County’s newest projects is completed, Carvana needs to hire more than 1,000 employees to work at its automotive processing facility at 5506 Kennel Road in Trenton.
Carvana, based in Tempe, Ariz., held its ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday hosted by the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton at the same time as a hiring event. There are about 120 employees and more than 1,000 need to be employed by the end of August, according to officials.
The 200,000-square foot facility that cost $24 million to build sits on about 116 acres, mostly paved with asphalt, and is located across the street from Miller Coors.
Justin Nelsen, general manager of the Butler County location in the Trenton Industrial Park, said the company offers employees “a lot of opportunities” because it believes in promoting from within.
“We’re giving them a career, not just another job,” said Nelsen, who transferred from a Carvana site in Indianapolis where he worked for 3 1/2 years. “Somebody can come in with zero knowledge in the automotive industry and we’re going to teach all the skill sets.”
At the Trenton facility, Nelsen said vehicles will go through a 150point inspection, cosmetic and mechanical improvements, complete detailing, then are photographed and listed on-line. The vehicles are staged on the lot, then transported to the potential owner.
Each Carvana pickup location allows customers to shop more than than 25,000 vehicles on Carvana.com, finance, purchase, trade in and schedule as-soon-as-next-day Car Vending Machine pickup or home delivery of that vehicle.
Trenton Mayor Calvin G. Woodrey said the city purchased the land in 2006 and while it has taken 16 years for development “it’s worthwhile.”