My brother in law and wife (early 30's no kids) just moved to the Beaver Creek area of  Dayton this week.  He asked me what there is to do and where to buy nice clothes, food etc. I live in the Nati and usually only go to WPAFBM or the Dayton airport when I'm up there. I will also be going up to Dayton alot the next couple of years. Any Farmer Markets nearby? Thanks!

There's a market downtown Dayton called the 2nd Street Market. It's a great place to be on Saturday but the indoor vendors are also there on Thurs/Fri. Also in Beavercreek, on Kemp Road just at the 675 overpass is a place called Franks Fruit Farm. They won't be open for a few more weeks. The 2nd Street Market has open-air vendors and also stationary/indoor vendors. More info at http://www.2ndstmarket.com/

For women's and men's clothes try the Mall at Fairfield Commons. The new development called The Greene has some nice women's stores but nothing really for men.

I'll second 2nd Street Market...

 

A great set of market photos from Rob can be found here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,13492.0.html

 

Oakwood (neighboring south suburb of Dayton/south side of UD) has an 'upscale' shopping district with a good men's clothier (Stocks) and some women's stuff like Talbots, Chicos and stuff like that as well as a good grocery named Dorothy Lane Market with a lot of local stuff and a nice organic selection.

 

For a good list of farmers markets check out this site and click Montomery County (Dayton) and Greene County (Beavercreek).

http://ourohio.org/map/ohfb_map_content.html

 

As for things to do, it depends what you like.  There's a lot of outdoorsy things to do through programs set up by the Five River Metroparks...everything from hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking all over the region to laser light shows and festivals at Riverscape downtown. 

 

Minor league Dayton Dragons baseball is very popular (top 10 hottest tickets according to Sports Illustrated) and so is college basketball in the winter (UD Flyers).

 

Some fun stuff for couples could include the Cool Films series at the Victoria Theatre downtown and the Oregon District on E. Fifth St. downtown (nice restaurants and a burgeoning arts district).  The Schuster Center across from the Victoria hosts Broadway tours and a lot of local performing arts groups (http://www.schustercenter.org).

 

The Fraze Pavilion (http://www.fraze.com) has a lot of concerts all summer...I've seen John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, Earth Wind and Fire, Harry Connick Jr., James Taylor, Journey and others there.  The bigger name performers come to the Nutter Center (at Wright State) in Beavercreek/Fairborn.

 

Near Beavercreek is the old "hippie-ish" town of Yellow Springs (it's an experience) (http://www.yellowspringsohio.org) that has some cool things to see and do including shops and restaurants and two big nature preserves (Glen Helen and John Bryan State Park) boarding the town to the east.  On the other side of the parks is Clifton Mill and Clifton Gorge (http://www.cliftonmill.com and http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/882/default.aspx) which is a sight to behold.

 

If you're into history, you should check out http://www.daytonhistory.org.  The Carillon Park has a cool bell tower and period festivals and car shows throughout the summer.  Patterson Homestead is quieter but holds things like antique sales and has a nice park-like property between Oakwood, UD, and downtown.

 

Of course I can't forget to mention the National Parks that are part of the Aviation Trail (http://www.nps.gov/daav and http://aviationtrailinc.org).

 

The Dayton Art Institute is a great experience and I strongly recommend Oktoberfest there and the Greek Festival at the Greek church next door (http://www.daytongreekfestival.com).

 

The Greene, as mentioned before, has a lot of new stuff including restaurants (Cheesecake Factory for example), a huge bookstore, shops, a deluxe movie theater, a Golds gym (that I think was bought by a different gym) and a few bars.  It is fun to visit (http://www.thegreene.com).

 

I'm just thinking off the top of my head, hope that helps.

Dorthoy Lane Market is probably the best bet for good food grocerys though the better stores are the newer ones, out in Spingboro and off Far Hills in Centerville....and there is a Trader Joes in Town & Country in Kettering.

 

 

a

The Oregon District is a nice little start for an introduction to Dayton regarding stores (except Goodwill), restaurants, pubs, etc.

My favorite things in Dayton were the Books & Co. store off of Far Hills Drive.  My understanding is thats basically a Booksamillion.  They always had an author speaking almost every day.  Definitely one of the best bookstores I've ever been to but I'm not sure it is any longer since it was bought out a few years ago.

 

Some pretty nice golf courses around Oakwood.  Dayton has some really nice disc golf courses as well, one in Kettering and another in Belmont that I particularly enjoyed.  Also in Belmont is Belmont Party center a little hole in the wall that has a HUGE selection of beers and wines.  I hear there's a new place thats opened on Alex Bell rd. thats pretty good too.    For pizza its hard to beat Marions pizza.  But there's a Deweys which you must be familiar with on the UD strip.  The Thai place in Oregon District is quite good.  My favorite restaurant/bar in Dayton is El Meson in West Carrollton for the amazing food and great mojitos and other South American drinks.  Its a Latin American/Carribean/Spanish restaurant.  They don't serve any Mexican.  It is a little pricey but the ambience will transport you to the Carribean. 

I never found anything interesting in Beaver Creek since its just an overbuilt suburb.

Thanks for your help guys!  I have not been to any of the places you have mentioned. Looks like there is alot of cool places to visit.

 

I never found anything interesting in Beaver Creek since its just an overbuilt suburb.

I just found that out..

a

This might sound a bit strange.. but..

 

Dayton has one of (if not the best) microbrew and craft beer stores in the entire state of Ohio. Belmont Party Supply is on Smithville Road and has beers that cant be found anywhere else in the state.

 

Its one of those little Gems that most people dont talk about, but is highly revered on popular brewing sites (Ratebeer, Beer Advocate). So if you are into that type of thing, go there. You wont leave without spending 40 dollars in specialties.

^

I dont microbrew, but go there for their excellent selection.  There is some duplication with Arrow Wine, but they also have things (both import and domestic) you wont find elsewhere in the region.

 

Thanks for that reminder!