Breaking: Dave Chappelle sits courtside at UD Arena for Flyers’ final home game

JUST IN: Troll Pub hits snag, pushes back opening date

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

News
By Mark Fisher
Sept 12, 2017
X

The Troll Pub at the Wheelhouse coming to 220 Wayne Ave. in Dayton has encountered complications that could push back the opening date to early 2018, according to the pub's general manager.

The pub's owners applied last week to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control for the beer, wine and liquor licenses they'll need to serve alcohol when the pub opens. But the licenses necessary for the new pub to serve beer are not currently available, a spokesman for the division of liquor control told this news outlet.

PHOTOS: Look inside the new Wheelhouse Lofts in Dayton’s Oregon District

Ben Barker -- general manager of  Troll Pub Under The Bridge, the popular tavern in Louisville, Ky. that is opening its second location in Dayton -- said he is confident the pub will be able to secure the necessary beer license prior to opening. Either new licenses will become available from the state, or Troll Pub could purchase an existing license, Barker said.

“A big part of our business is beer -- we’ve got 32 taps. We’re not going to open without a beer license,” Barker told this news outlet in a phone interview. “I don’t think we’ll have an issue securing a license, and I don’t think it will affect our opening.”

ALSO NEW TODAY: What happens now to TGI Fridays Beavercreek after 2 others shut down?

Troll Pub is awaiting approval of its architectural plans by the city of Dayton before the build-out portion of construction will begin, Barker said. That last phase of construction should take 12 to 14 weeks, which would likely push completion to around the holidays -- not an ideal time to be opening a new pub, the general manager said.

Barker won’t rule out opening before the end of the year, “but it’s looking like it may be mid-January,” he said. Troll Pub’s owners had originally hoped to open during the summer of 2017, later pushing back the projected opening to the fall.

RELATED: Another new Dayton brewery in the works, this one in South Park

The 6,500-square-foot Troll Pub at the Wheelhouse is expected to seat 250 to 300 in his dining room, bar and courtyard. It will employ about 40 people, about half of whom would be full-time employees, Barker said.

The Louisville tavern is known for its extensive selection of bourbons and a food menu that Barker described as “pub grub, but made from scratch.”

RELATED: Louisville pub plans to open 250-seat location in Dayton (April 2016)

“The Wheelhouse” is the name of the project in the 200 block of Wayne Avenue that will include a 40-unit apartment building and the Troll Pub restaurant and bar. There is also space for another retail tenant, possibly a second restaurant, the project’s developer has said.

About the Author

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.