DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – A historic Dayton restaurant held its grand reopening on Tuesday, April 4 after it was forced to close during the pandemic.
According to a release, Culp’s Cafe began in 1902, when a Dayton widow, Charlotte Culp baked goods for her children to sell door-to-door. the business expanded into a stand at the South Main Street market and then into a shop in the Dayton Arcade selling a variety of poultry, eggs, cheese and pickles from three lunch counters. the lunch counters then turned into a full cafeteria in the 1930’s and sold to approximately 5,000 customers a day within a decade of operation.
The restaurant was sold in the 1960s, and now it lives on at Carillon Historical Park as a turn-of-the-century themed soda fountain. in addition to milkshakes, malts and Italian sodas, the shop will also serve breakfast cocktails and a variety of breakfast and lunch foods.
“It’s a really neat experience to have people come in, kind of absorb some of Dayton’s history, have some really good food and we have some really good drinks as well,” said cafe manager Eric Ricks. “But it’s just nice to be able to provide that to the community as well as the patrons of the Dayton Historical or Carillon Park.”
The restaurant will be open from Tuesday through Saturday each week, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the release said.
There is no admission fee required to dine at the cafe, however, admission is still required for the rest of the park.
