Free BBQ for a year TODAY for the first 50 customers at new Flyby BBQ in Beavercreek

Founder of Flyby BBQ graduated from OSU just 2 months ago, and is now taking his food truck to the next level

The independent and locally owned Flyby BBQ restaurant that opened opened Tuesday at the Mall at Fairfield Commons will give away "Free BBQ for a Year" to the first 50 customers to purchase an entrée as part of its grand opening today, Saturday, Feb. 23.

Customers started lining up before noon on Friday to make sure they were among the first 50, Flyby BBQ founder David Butcher said Friday.

>> Giordano's sets opening date for its 1st Dayton-area deep-dish pizza restaurant 

The winners will be able to score an entrée and drink once a week, each week, for a year, at no cost to them.

Also, Flyby BBQ will be donating 100 percent of the food sales today to Fisher Nightingale House, NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice), Anytown Camp, and to Big Brothers Big Sisters at Yellow Springs High School.

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The grand opening kicks off at 10:45 a.m. today. Flyby BBQ’s hours are 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The new restaurant, which got its start as a food truck, is located between Fusian and Bravo Cucina Italiana near the mall’s front entrance.

 

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Butcher is a Yellow Springs High School graduate who graduated in December 2018 from Ohio State University. While at OSU, he was named no. 1 Student Entrepreneur in Central Ohio and top 25 in the United States by Entrepreneurs Organization in both 2016 and 2017.

*** EARLIER COVERAGE (Jan. 16, 2019) **

Flyby BBQ, a new and independently owned restaurant that got its start on the local food-truck circuit, is gearing up to open at the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek. The new restaurant will be located between the existing Fusian and Bravo Cucina Italiana restaurants near the mall's front entrance.

“As of right now, we expect to open the first week of February,” the restaurant’s founder, 21-year-old Fairborn  native David Butcher, told this news outlet on Jan. 9.

The 2,550-square-foot space will seat about 75 inside and another 10 on a patio, Butcher said. The restaurant should have its wine and liquor license by opening, and has plans to expand its alcohol offerings to include cocktails later, the restaurant’s founder said.

EARLIER COVERAGE: College kid launches new made-to-order BBQ food truck in Dayton (June 2017)

Flyby will be a fast-casual barbecue restaurant with an ordering system similar to Chipotle. It will serve signature barbeque sandwiches, bowls and platters featuring hickory-smoked meats, a variety of toppings, and regional American barbeque sauces. A vegan option of pulled barbecue jackfruit will be available. The restaurant also will feature homemade comfort-food-style side dishes, banana pudding, craft beer and sodas.

>> Giordano's reveals details of its 1st Dayton-area deep-dish pizza restaurant (November 2018)

Plans call for continuing the Flyby BBQ food truck, which will focus on larger festivals and food-truck rallies, Butcher said. The new restaurant  will donate all of the proceeds from food sales on opening day to three local non-profit organizations.

>> Dayton's newest BBQ restaurant now hiring 'spunky individuals'

“I’m excited about this,” Butcher has said. “I’ve always had a passion for business and entrepreneurship. But moreso, I have a passion for great food shared with great company, and Flyby is where these passions come together to create something truly special.”

*** UPDATE on 11/16/18 *** 

The owner of a new, independently owned eatery coming to the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek is looking for “spunky individuals” who want to work at “an awesome restaurant.”

Flyby BBQ will open with 22 to 25  employees and is looking to hire about 15 more, its founder, David Butcher, told this news outlet last month.

“We are shooting for December” to open, Butcher said.

The restaurant will be located between the existing Fusian and BRAVO Cucina Italiana restaurants, near the mall’s front entrance.

A flier posted at that location says Flyby BBQ will offer employees competitive  pay of more than $10 an hour, caring management, flexible scheduling, performance bonuses, free meals and most holidays off. “Second-chance” applicants are welcomed, Flyby’s owners said.

Interested persons are invited to log onto www.FlybyBBQ.com/careers or call (937) 637-3001.

*** PREVIOUS COVERAGE (June 2018)***

A new and independently owned restaurant that got its start on the local food-truck circuit is coming to the Mall at Fairfield Commons, the restaurant’s founder told this news outlet.

Flyby BBQ will open in space between the existing Fusian and BRAVO Cucina Italiana restaurants, according to 20-year-old Ohio State University student David Butcher. Plans call for building out the space this summer and opening sometime this fall.

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The 2,550-square-foot space will seat about 75 inside and another 10 on a patio, Butcher said. It will employ 15 to 20.

“I’m excited about this,” said Butcher, a Fairborn native who now lives in Yellow Springs when OSU classes are not in session. “I’ve always had a passion for business and entrepreneurship.”

“But more so, I have a passion for great food shared with great company, and Flyby is where these passions come together to create something truly special.”

Flyby will be a fast-casual barbecue restaurant with an ordering system similar to Chipotle. It will serve signature barbeque sandwiches, bowls and platters featuring hickory-smoked meats, a variety of toppings, and regional American barbeque sauces. A vegan option of pulled barbecue jackfruit will be available. The restaurant also will feature homemade comfort-food-style side dishes, banana pudding, craft beer and sodas.

Plans call for continuing the Flyby BBQ food truck, which will focus on larger festivals and food-truck rallies, Butcher said.

EARLIER COVERAGE: College kid launches new made-to-order BBQ food truck in Dayton (June 2017)

“The Mall at Fairfield Commons is excited to welcome Flyby BBQ as they expand into their first brick and mortar store” Kristie Miller, general manager of The Mall at Fairfield Commons, said in a release. “We strive to meet shopper demand by providing dynamic national and local brands and retail concepts, as well as family-friendly dining and entertainment options all within our center.

“Flyby BBQ is a highly-rated hip new restaurant concept and we are lucky that they are calling Fairfield Commons home.”

Flyby will join a diverse mix of restaurants at Fairfield Commons including BJ’s Brewhouse, Chuy’s Tex Mex, BRAVO Cucina Italiana, Spinoza’s Pizza and Salads, FUSIAN, MacKenzie River Pizza, Melt Bar and Grilled, and the similarly named, but totally separate, Flyboy’s Deli. Part of the space that now accommodates some of those restaurants was created when the mall’s then-owners decided to tear down part former department store space to make way for restaurant concepts — a move that now appears prescient.

Flyby BBQ founder Butcher was named the Top Student Entrepreneur in Central Ohio and top 25 in the United States by Entrepreneurs Organization in both 2016 and 2017. He launched the business in 2016 with pop-up events and catering, then  brought on his cousin, Mark Butcher, to  launch the food truck venture in 2017.

One other local food truck, Zombie Dogz, made the transition to bricks-and-mortar restaurant with its location on Brown Street near the University of Dayton. And Hunger Paynes food truck is poised to open a beer and wine garden at the Dayton Mall.

RELATED: Local food truck to open beer, wine pub in the Dayton Mall (September 2017)

Butcher said he chose the Mall at Fairfield Commons location because it’s the epicenter of the food truck’s following with its proximity to Wright State University, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Beavercreek, Fairborn and Yellow Springs.

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