News

CONFIRMED: Mudlick Tap House moving ahead with downtown Dayton plans

The owners of Mudlick Tap House in Germantown have dropped their plans for a second location in Springboro and will move ahead instead with renovations to the former Club Aquarius space at 135 E. Second St. in downtown Dayton for a new beer-themed restaurant, Mudlick co-owner Jennifer Dean told this news outlet this afternoon, Sept. 30.

“It’s pretty much a done deal — the lease will go to the attorneys next week, and we’re moving forward,” Dean said. If all goes well, the new restaurant could open next spring, she said.

Mudlick Tap House’s downtown Dayton location initially will occupy the first two floors of the three-story building, each floor containing about 4,500 square feet and an occupancy of about 100, Dean said.

Plans call for a restaurant that will stay open later than most. It will offer a broad menu, all dishes made from scratch, ranging from sandwiches to entrees. The tap house will have about a dozen beer taps, all devoted to craft beers, and will serve cocktails and wine as well.

“We’ll stick to our motto of, ‘No crap on tap,’” Dean said.

Dean and her business partner, Forrest Williams, decided the East Second Street location was a better choice for a second location. Dean is the co-owner of the AleFest event, the outdoor beer festival held every summer in downtown Dayton, as well as the AleFeast event held in the winter in Dayton.

“We’re both big fans of downtown Dayton,” Dean said.

The Mudlick owners had applied for a liquor license to build a restaurant and tap room from the ground up on a vacant plot of land at 730 Gardner Road across Ohio 741 from the Marketplace at Settler’s Walk in Springboro. Dean said the Dayton plans are a better fit for Mudlick’s concept and pose less of a financial risk.

“We have rescinded our application” for the Springboro project, she said.

Kent Kumbroch — a Dayton businessman who purchased, renovated and reopened Murray’s Pub & Grub on South Dixie Drive in Kettering earlier this year, and who formerly operated his own restaurant, Amici’s Place, in Kettering a few years ago — purchased the vacant former Club Aquarius building in August. Kumbroch met with Mudlick’s owners this afternoon to hammer out details of the lease.

“He’s pretty excited about this project too,” Dean said.

0
Comments on this article