From the 7/25/05 edition of the Dayton Business Journal

 

Downtown Draw

New nightclub attracts regional crowd, national attention

Caleb Stephens

DBJ Senior Reporter

A red-haired drag queen takes the stage lip-syncing to a 1970s disco tune and a half-dozen men in their underwear dance on the bar.

 

It's 11:30 p.m. on a recent Friday night in Club Masque, and the party is just starting.

 

By night's end, more than 600 men and women, young and old, will file through the doors to dance, drink and socialize. On Saturday, more than 1,000 people will show up.

 

More below

 

E-mail [email protected]. Call 222-6900, ext. 101.

http://dayton.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2005/07/25/story2.html

 

Interesting article.  Really interesting to see this in the Bizjournal, too. 

 

 

Entertainment such as nightclubs attract folks from throughout the region that might not otherwise step foot in downtown," said Steve Nutt, director of strategic development with CityWide Development Corp., the community development arm of the city of Dayton.

 

...yes, that pretty much describes me.  And, in fact, there is very little reason to go downtown except for entertainment, whether it be nightclubs of various types, or more mainstream arts events like the ballet, opera, live theatre, or symphony.

 

 

 

 

 

I've always hoped downtown could capitalize on it's restaurants a bit more (a la Cincinnati or Cleveland).  The Oregon District is decent in terms of restaurant options but the actual core is a bit lacking.  When everybody "hooped and hollered" about Uno's opening in the old Citizens Federal Tower, Steve Budd and etc were on cloud 9.  Well, I'd hope other restaurants (be it chain or local) would open up near functioning areas like the old Courthouse Square (when Charley's Seafood and etc were there) or perhaps Jefferson/5th.

 

Alas.  I'll have to settle for Flying Dogs.

Most of the restaurants downtown are for the lunch crowd, which is possibly a big market, or are hotel restaurants.

 

Recently there have been new ones that have opened:

 

1. ...the restaurant in the Shuster Center

 

2. ...apparently a new restaurant has opened in the old "Olivias" (or King Cole) space in the Kettering Tower.

 

There was a restaurant in the new Relizon building, but it appears to have closed already.

 

I think Chins is still operating as a restaurant, too.

 

...this is pretty paltry, to be honest.  The former Kittys in the Citizens Federal building is now Skogalniks (sp?), but it seems to have very limited hours, which is unfortunate as that is a potentially good spot.  I really liked the old Kittys as it really broke out of the "dark interior" box that upscale Dayton restaurants used to be in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Citilites, right?

2. Dunno about that one.  Olivia's was actually good.

 

The Relizon Building one (Zola) I believe is replaced by some new thing.  I enjoyed the Mediterreanean restaurant in the old CitFed Building as well (Thomato's?).

 

If Dayton got their act together, Third and the area around the Square could be a decent restaurant area (much like the 80's).

My work is only 8 minutes from Downtown so I try to go a least once a week but like mentioned above there is just a lack of food options.  I frequent the Dublin Pub and it is probably my favorite downtown Dayton lunch spot.  We are more likely to go to the UD area for lunch when we are not eating around my work.  Does the UD area have a name?  We usually refer to it as the "UD" area for a lack of a better name.

University Park is the official name.  Generally, locals just call it Brown St.

I forgot that the Spaghetti Warehouse is downtown too, which is a good place for cheap italian food. 

 

For the Beavercreek lunch crowd, particulary the Research Park area, that new Greene Town Center on Indian Ripple will be a good nearby lunch spot.

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