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Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Bill Franz

Dayton at Work and Play: Samaneh Faramarzi

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I met Samaneh (Sama) Faramarzi at the Second Street Market as she was selling her art and some of her baked goods. Then I visited one of the most versatile artists I’ve ever met.
When I arrived Sama was painting in her backyard. “I usually paint indoors but today was so beautiful I moved things outside” she told me.
We started with saffron tea and raisin cookies. Then I tried a slice of her cake. “The cakes are similar to those found in Europe” she explained. “They are less sweet than most American cakes and have layers of cream and fresh fruits. The cookies are a traditional Iranian recipe.”
“I’ve always enjoyed cooking, and I started baking my own pastries and cakes because I missed these flavors from my home country. I made cookies and a cake for my son’s 3rd birthday party and people enjoyed them. Now more and more people want me to bake for them. I call that business Sama’s Sweet Kitchen.“
“People especially like my decorated cakes, and I enjoy making them. They are not just desserts. They are edible artwork. When I’m not painting on canvas, I find great fulfillment in making these cakes, and I know they bring happiness to others.”
Then Sama showed me some of her artwork. “I work in many mediums and in many styles. I use acrylic and water colors and colored pencils and alcohol and ink. Sometimes I paint precisely and sometimes I do pour paintings that make an abstract pattern. Sometimes I even do hand building in clay. Unless I’m doing a commission for someone I just make the art that will make me the most happy at that time.”
Sama sent me home with a few slices of cake and some cookies. My wife absolutely loved the cake and when she saw photos of some of the decorated cakes I could see she was thinking about using them for some event. For myself, I liked the cake but may have become addicted to Sama’s raisin cookies. I think I’ll tell my daughters that’s what I want for Father’s Day.

Mateo is not a criminal

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Mateo is not a criminal


As I worked on this and the other pieces in this series I wondered if any gallery would want to exhibit them. This work is a direct criticism of the president, and he’s doing his best to make people afraid to criticize him.

In his first 100 days in power the president has gone after everyone who’s ever made him mad. When he doesn’t attack people or institutions directly he mentions something online and his most rabid fans do his dirty work. When judges rule against him, for example, they and their families get hundreds of threatening emails and phone calls.

In this political atmosphere many people and institutions are trying to avoid any confrontation with the administration. That’s a common reaction to a bully – keep your head down and hope he doesn’t notice you. Even if the bully targets you the temptation is not to complain because he could always make it worse.

That’s why I wasn’t sure if this work would be exhibited. But I applied to ArtPrize anyway. That’s a huge art competition and festival held in Grand Rapids annually. This year it will run from September 18 to October 4. Over 800,000 people come to ArtPrize each year.

Within days of applying I got an email from one of the 149 participating venues inviting me to exhibit. Last weekend I drove to Grand Rapids to make sure that the owner of the business where I’d been invited to exhibit was fully on board with work that was political. He told me he didn’t see my art as political, and he himself never gets involved in politics. He sees what is being done to these children and their parents as a human rights issue. To him my work was about human rights, not politics.

So the work will be seen in Michigan this fall. Now I need to finish the work, and find more places where someone likes the art and is not worried about irritating the president and his most rabid fans.

Dayton at Work and Play: Matthew R. Burgy Artworks

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Conversation with Matthew Burgy of Matthew R. Burgy Artworks (Front Street, Building 100, BC door, 3rd floor). Are you a full time artist now, Matthew?
“Well I was a part-time artist until recently. I was working full time at the Dayton Art Institute as a museum educator until they were forced to make some staff cuts. I am still teaching in some workshops at the Dayton Society of Artists but I’m primarily a working artist now.”
Are you selling here at Front Street? “I am. I’m working in this space and selling here too. I’m open for First Friday of course, but also every Saturday 11-4.”
Your booth has a lot of different types of art. “Yes, I do drawing, painting, print making, mixed media in addition to my kinetic work. It may seem to cover a broad range but I feel like it’s all related to nature.”
When I’m at Front Street I often stop by to look at your kinetic sculptures. How long have you been doing making mobiles?
“It goes back to my student days at Wright State. I was doing print making and I made a mistake and ruined a big sheet of aluminum. Rather than throw it away I cut it into parts and tried to make a mobile. A friend explained some of the physics of it, which helped, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I used to graph everything out, but now I have just a general idea and then see what happens. In fact rather than referring back to some drawing I’ve made I often just watch nature and see how things are balanced there.”
“In addition to mobiles that hang I’ve been making staybiles. They sit on a stationary pedestal and they have some moving parts . As I make them I’m trying to get motion without having the components hit the base. That gets a little tricky. Those with the red bead are part of a series – a seed series – based on the shape of helicopter seeds.”
As he talked with me Matthew was bending a piece of wire. Before I left he had made one of his face figures. “I need to get a name for these guys, because people seem to like them and I love making them.”
Matthew R. Burgy Artworks
Front Street, Building 100,
BC door, 3rd floor  Studio #3345
Dayton, OH, 45402

Dayton at Work and Play: Richard Lundin

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Conversation with Richard Lundin at Front Street (1001 East 2nd).
I know you came here from Chicago about 10 years ago. What brought you?
“One of the owners was getting ready to retire and I said I’d take a look at the place and give them my thoughts. I thought it would take me a few months, but 10 years later I’m still here. I became a part owner in 2020.”
“The three buildings here were built in the late 1800’s. There was a paper mill here once, with equipment powered by a canal that ran right by the place. Then it was the home of an envelope company. When they moved in 1965 the current ownership group bought the buildings and started renting space to entrepreneurs of all kinds.”
“There were a few artists who rented space back in 1965 – artists are always looking for inexpensive studio space – but it was mostly businesses. Over time the number of artists has grown. Now about 150 artists rent about 75% of the space. I think they see a benefit to being part of the community of artists here
I’ve always loved photographing here because I love taking pictures of people at work. At Front Street I’ve photographed boat builders, jewelry makers, glass blowers, painters, and many other kinds of workers. “I enjoy that too. I love to see people who are really good at the thing they do, and we have a lot of really talented people here.”

I’ve never seen a landlord get so involved in the success of his tenants. “We do what we can to support the artists here. We run a monthly party where everyone opens their studios and lots of people come. It’s the first Friday of the month and the following Saturday. And lots of people visit at other times, too. Our doors are open from 7am to 7pm and if you walk around the buildings during those hours you’ll always find some studios open and some artists who are happy to talk to you.”
“We’re doing something special here May 2 and May 3. It’s called ARTebration. We’ll have street artists from all over the country painting new murals on the walls at Front Street; plus there’s music and food and all of our art studios will be open.”

Dayton at Work and Play: Sandra Simi

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Conversation with Sandra Simi at Safari Treasures.  Sandra sometimes shops in Belmont at Anita Nzigiye’s Ikaze East African Market, which is how I got her name.
“I left Kenya 30 years ago but opened this shop just over 2 years ago. We sell many things from Africa but our main business is woven baskets.”
“Basket weaving is more than a craft in Africa. It represents tradition and the power of working together. Nothing shows that better than the baskets I have from Rwanda. That country suffered through a terrible genocide and in the aftermath the government started a reconciliation program. As part of that program Hutu women and Tutsi women weave baskets together.”
“I’ve traveled across Africa meeting weavers and talking about what designs might fit the U.S. market. Those baskets you’re photographing now are from Ghana and made out of elephant grass. It’s one of the strongest plants ever.”
“Those over there are from Uganda. They eat a lot of bananas in Uganda and make baskets out of banana leaves. Those are from Rwanda. They’re made from sisal. These are from Sierra Leone. They include recycled plastic to reinforce their baskets and to add color. That makes them durable, but nothing is as durable as the baskets made from elephant grass. Those can be used to carry heavy objects for decades.”
“I have been disappointed in sales at my shop, so on weekends I sell at art fairs and craft fairs. Those have been great for me. I also sell at the 2nd Street market on weekends when I’m in town. There is also one special kind of basket that I sell at the gift shop at The Contemporary Dayton. It’s difficult to make. The weaver tightens some of the strands to get a wave-like shape. Each of those baskets is special, truly one of a kind.”
Before leaving to talk with Sandra I showed the shop’s social media photos to my wife. She decided to go to the shop with me, and now there’s a basket made from elephant grass on our dining room table.
5785 Far Hills Ave
Dayton, Ohio 45429
937-608-2448

Sun – Fri 10am – 5pm
closed Saturday

Dayton At Work and Play: Zach Hensley

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Conversation with Zach Hensley, manager of Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity ReStore  How long have you had this job, Zeke?
“I’ve been here for four years. Before that I was a manager at the Dayton airport. Almost everything we sell here is donated, and the profits from our sales support Habitat for Humanity. They help people who need affordable housing and who are willing to invest hundreds of hours of work alongside volunteers.”
“We sell all kinds of household goods, appliances, furniture, cabinets, building supplies, books, TVs, flooring and more. We just got a big load of new furniture from a national chain that is moving locations. The Dayton Dragons have also been sending us quite a bit lately.”
I see a sign for volunteer check in. Do you use lots of volunteers? “We do. We couldn’t operate without volunteers. Right now, quite a few of our volunteers are students. We have people from U.D., Wright State, Sinclair and a few high schools.”
“I mentioned that almost everything we sell has been donated to us. The exception is paint and painting supplies. Reselling paint that was donated to us probably wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Even though it’s not donated, the paint we sell is recycled. It’s called EcoTone and it is supplied to us by a company in Van Wert. They take unused paint, sort it, triple-filter it and blend it into 18 different colors. We like offering recycled paint because it saves out customers money and it prevents unused paint from entering landfills and waterways.”

Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity ReStore
115 W Riverview Ave.
Dayton, Ohio 45405

Hours of Operation

Tuesday through Saturday
OPEN. 9:00 a.m.- Noon &
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The Dayton ReStore is closed Noon- 1:00 p.m. daily for lunch

Dayton at Work and Play: Anita Nzigiye

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Conversation with Anita Nzigiye at Ikaze East African Market in Belmont. I’ve driven by this store at 2515 Smithville many times, but just stopped in for the first time and met Anita. I asked about the store and the people they serve.
“I am from Rwanda” she told me. “I left Rwanda for the U.S. in 2007 and became a citizen in 2014. I opened this store in March, 2020, just at the start of the pandemic. Most of our customers are from Africa, especially East Africa.”
“Much of the food we sell comes from East Africa. We even get our eggplants from Africa. They are similar to the eggplant you have here, but smaller. I personally think local eggplant taste the same, but people like to have the small African eggplant, the one they ate when they were growing up.”
“We sell a lot of staples like palm oil, rice, corn flour and Cassava flour. We sell most of these staples in large quantities. African people don’t like to go to a market every day. They want to buy enough when they are in the market so that they don’t need to shop again for two weeks or more, even if they have a large family.”
“Our corn flour and cassava flour is used to make fufu, which is an important part of our diet. When you’re done making fufu it looks kind of like mashed potatoes, but it’s thicker. We tear off pieces of it and use it to eat soups or stews.”
“We also carry many kinds of fish because people from the Congo especially love fish. We sell dried fish, salted fish, frozen fish, tilapia, all kinds of fish. They seem to eat fish every day.”
“We also sell green bananas here, which you call plantains. We boil them and then fry them. It’s good. We also sell a lot of ground peanuts, used to make soup.”
Anita told me about a restaurant called Soso Cuisine that recently opened in West Carrollton. The owner is from Rwanda. Anita suggested I try their sambusa. If we go to Soso Cuisine and love one of their African dishes and want to try making it at home, I now know where to buy the African ingredients.

Ikaze East African Market

2515 Smithville
Dayton, OH 45420
937) 567-0778
Mon – Sat 9:30am – 8pm
Sun 10am -8pm

Dayton at Work and Play: Chef Cece

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Conversation with Chef Cece of The Burger Bistro, one of the four restaurants at The Silos (801 East First). I asked Chef Cece about her food background.

“It seems like I’ve always been cooking” she told me. “My mother tells people that at age 7 I’d come home from school, open the refrigerator door, and then cook something creative out of whatever ingredients I found. But I didn’t think about cooking as a career. I worked for a large company in customer service. Sometimes at work we’d bring in food to share and people raved about my food. They said I should be selling it.”
“With that encouragement, I decided to start doing some catering on the side. Soon I was making more from catering than on my regular job. So 4 years ago I quit and started cooking full time. I call my business Cece’s Kitchen
The last 4 years have been crazy busy. In addition to our catering we now have a food truck that’s been very popular. I keep getting calls from people wondering when we’ll start it up again for the season. They especially miss our Taco Tuesday. And now we have a brick and mortar location – The Burger Bistro at the Silos. Business has been really good here at the Silos. I’m so glad my husband Antonio decided to jump on board. I really needed the help.”
What’s your most popular dish here at the Silos?
“Our Hot Honey Fried Chicken Deviled Eggs are our biggest seller. Our top burger is called Triple B. It’s a double smash burger with bacon, cheddar and provolone cheese, jalapeno, fried onions and maple bacon sauce.”
The last time I ate at the Burger Bistro I tried your glazed salmon sliders. They were so good I’ll have trouble ordering anything else.
“Those are a favorite for a lot of people, but before you get stuck in a rut you’ve got to try those eggs I told you about. And in May we’ll have some new menu items that might also tempt you.”

Bill Franz’s Hidden Figures: Miguel

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This series was inspired by words – President Trump’s lies about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield.    I’ve decided that I should try to include words in the images I’m creating.  I should use my words to combat those of the president.

 

Lies and slander are part of the president’s schtick, the comedic style he uses to entertain his followers.  Wikipedia lists more than 80 of his derogatory nicknames, like calling his predecessor “Crooked Joe.”   The president uses those nicknames to demean other powerful people.  It’s different when his slurs are directed at the most vulnerable.

When powerful people direct hate speech against the vulnerable I hear echoes of some of history’s worst events. Calling Haitians criminals who eat people’s dogs and cats makes me think of the Tutsis who were called cockroaches before the killings in Rwanda, or the Jews who were called vermin before their German citizenship was stripped away. Words aimed at dehumanizing the vulnerable can be a first step towards abuse. When we hear those words we need to shout them down.

Miguel’s parents brought him here to escape the violence in his native country.  He has no documentation, so the president labels him a criminal. We cannot let that label stand.  It can be used to justify abuses, claiming they were acceptable because they were directed only against criminals.

If the president wants to label some people as criminals, we should insist that he use the word accurately.  A criminal is a person who has been found guilty in a court of law of committing a crime.  The president is a criminal.  Miguel is not.

Dayton at Work and Play: Kait Gilcher- Heart Co-Owner

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Several people have suggested I post about Heart Mercantile because they’ve done so many good things for Dayton, so I stopped by recently and met Kait. I asked her how long the business has been in operation.
“Brittany Smith started the business in 2015” she told me. “It wasn’t in this location but it’s always been in the Oregon District. That’s worked out well for us. People visit the area often so there are always folks walking by. People also bring out of town guests to the Oregon District, because it’s one of the areas that make our city special. While they are here they can stop in for a souvenir of their visit to Dayton.”
I see that many of your products relate to Dayton. “Our shop offers a wide variety of gifts, but we specialize in items that relate to Dayton. We say we’re Dayton-centric. All of the Dayton themed items are designed by us and to the extent possible they’re also made in Dayton.”
A lot has happened during your 10 years of operation – the day 14 tornadoes hit the city, the mass shooting on this street, the pandemic. I understand your business has done a lot to help people through those troubles.
“That’s something we’re passionate about. We try to give back as much as we can, and we have a donation center to make it easy for others to support the causes we care about. You mentioned the Oregon District shootings. Just two days after that terrible event we designed a new shirt to honor the vic

tims and the #DaytonStrong movement and donated all of the profits to a fund created by the Dayton Foundation.”
Is anything happening soon that you’d like to mention?
“Derby Day will be here soon, with a fashion show and wiener dog races. That’s always fun. And we do monthly block parties. The Oregon District is a great part of Dayton and we try to contribute in our own way to keeping the area interesting. “

Heart Mercantile

In the Oregon District
601 E. 5th Street,
Dayton, OH 45402
Open daily 11am – 8pm

Bill Franz’s Hidden Figures: Elon

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I’ve always assumed that undocumented immigrants were wage earners. I was wrong. Hundreds of thousands of them have built businesses here. Those businesses tend to be small because it takes capital to grow a business, and raising capital can draw unwanted attention. That’s what happened to Elon, according to an October, 2024 article in the Washington Post. The Post interviewed Elon’s business associates, reviewed court records and got copies of company contracts to tell the following:
In 1995 Elon and his brother went to California to start a business, but the two Canadians did not have legal work status. Like most undocumented immigrants they had little capital so they slept in their office to save money. They worked hard and by 1996 the business was taking off. Investors were ready to put in money, but when they learned that Elon and his brother were undocumented they protected themselves with an unusual funding agreement. If the brothers did not get legal work status in 45 days the investors could reclaim their money. “We don’t want our founder being deported” one director was quoted as saying.
We don’t know if Elon met that 45 day deadline. People tell me getting legal work status is a long, slow process that takes years. We do know that he wasn’t deported, and in 2002 the business was sold for $300 million. Elon became a U.S. citizen that same year.
Elon denies the Post’s account but has given little detail about his journey from being Canadian to becoming a U.S. citizen. Elon’s brother is more candid. In 2013 he told interviewers that when the two brothers started their first business in the U.S. “We were illegal immigrants.”
The Post article tells us that the world’s richest man started his business career as an undocumented immigrant. What an inspiration to the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who have built businesses here. I wish Elon would share details of his immigration journey. I’m sure that his fellow entrepreneurs would like to know how to get legal status in 45 days. Then, with the threat of deportation removed, those small businesses might grow and bring benefits to us all.

Hidden Figures: Salona

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Salona, part of my series Hidden Figures. Salona is a Haitian name that means “rare ruby” or “most beautiful.”

President Trump said the Haitians in Springfield are criminals who eat people’s dogs and cats. In fact they are legal, documented immigrants recruited by local businesses and supported by city officials as being good for the community.

The Springfield News-Sun quoted one of the Haitian immigrants: “No one wants to leave their native country, but a lot of bad things are happening right now because of the gangsters. We’re working here, we’re paying taxes here. We’re just trying to pursue a better life.”

The president says he is taking away the Haitian’s status as legal immigrants in August. That would force them to choose between returning to a violent, dangerous homeland and  becoming “hidden figures” unable to work, drive or do other things legally. If he carries through with this threat the president will be hurting our local economy and increasing the number of undocumented immigrants.

It’s clear to me that the president’s attitude towards the Haitians employed in Springfield would be different if they were white. Just compare his statements about those Haitians with his statements about white farmers who are citizens of South Africa. He offered those white farmers a rapid pathway to U.S. citizenship if the South African government took actions that made them feel unsafe.

The president has always been in favor of immigration – as long as the immigrants are white.  During his first time in office he repeatedly said he wanted more immigrants from “nice” (white) countries like Norway. Some of the people closest to the president are white immigrants, including his first wife, his current wife and his most important advisor, Elon Musk.

Facing discrimination because they are not white is nothing new for black undocumented immigrants. They have always been more likely to be deported than other immigrants, and more likely to suffer abuse during the process. I hope Salona and her family stay safe.

 

Dayton at Work and Play: Chef Dane

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Conversation with Chef Dane Shipp at the Nood Bar, one of the four restaurants at the Silos (801 East First). I asked Chef Dane how he got into the food business.
“I went to Sinclair part-time and eventually got into their culinary program. I was also working at Chappy’s Tap Room. After 8 years at Chappy’s I went to Lock 27 and became their executive chef. When the pandemic hit in 2020 I had to lay off almost everyone at Lock 27. I was doing all of the ordering all of the cooking and all of the cleanup – and making less money. I quit and became an executive chef.”
“The pandemic was a great time to be an executive chef. People couldn’t go out to restaurants but they still wanted to have dinner parties and eat good food. Just a few weeks after I started I had a 4 month backlog of work. Some of the people I cooked for then have been great supporters of my restaurants.”
“In 2023 I opened my first restaurant, at 416 E Fifth in the Oregon District. It’s called “Culture.” It only seats 36 people so it has a cozy atmosphere.”
I saw an article in “Eater,” a website dealing with food all over the world, that included Culture in their list of the top 18 restaurants in Dayton. The article mentioned an item on your menu called the Drip Burger. What’s that?
“We change our offerings often, but the Drip Burger is always on the menu. It’s made with local Honey Creek beef, farm-made American cheese, caramelized onions, pickled cherry peppers, and Drip sauce on a potato bun.”
The Nood Bar has a whole different menu than your first restaurant. Tell me about that.
“When I was younger I had three roommates from Laos and I fell in love with the Asian food they cooked. The Nood Bar takes their Asian style dishes and puts our own twist on it. Take our chicken ramen, for example. My roommates from Laos wouldn’t have topped their dish with collards.”
“I like being located here at The Silos and I think it’s going to be even better once the weather warms and patio seating opens up. We’re getting a lot of large groups and families, because with four restaurants sharing the same bar and seating area there’s food to appeal to everyone.”
Nood Bar at The Silos
810 E 1st St.
Dayton, OH, 45402

authentic noodles, bao buns, and dumplings, a celebration of Asian cuisine

Tuesday – Thursday 4-10 PM
Friday 4 PM – Midnight
Saturday 11 AM – Midnight
Sunday 11 AM – 7 PM

 

New Photo Series By Bill Frana: Hidden Figures

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The inspiration for this series was President Trump’s lies about the Haitian  immigrants in Springfield.  His statement that they are criminals who eat people’s cats and dogs caused even Ohio’s Republican officials to complain.   When a powerful person lies it makes me wonder what he’s hiding.  It makes me want to know more about all of the immigrants he’s threatened and lied about.  That eventually led me to this series.

As I post the pieces in this series I’ll share some of the things I’ve learned about our country’s immigrants.  In this piece some basic facts are built into the image.  The boy is standing on an orange floor that takes up 11% of the image because 11% of the people now in the U.S. were born elsewhere and have documents that show they are now U.S. citizens or legal residents.

The gold band represents the 3% of people in the U.S. who were born elsewhere and don’t have documents.  These are the millions of “hidden figures” President Trump says he’ll round up, imprison and send out of the country.

The background in blue refers to the 85% of people in the U.S. who are descendants of immigrants.

The top line is 1% of the image.  It represents the only U.S. residents who are not immigrants or their descendants – Native Americans.

This series is about undocumented immigrants – hidden figures – and in this piece  I’m using a photo of the boy I call Mateo to represent one of them.  I have no idea whether this boy is actually an undocumented immigrant.  He could be a fifth generation American.   When I’m given the opportunity to photograph a child like this I don’t ask about his immigration status.  I just say thank you and take the photo.

Dayton at Work and Play: Judd Platternburg, Sugarcereek Photography Gallery

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I’m inspired every time I visit this gallery showing more than 300 prints by 12 excellent photographers. Recently I asked one of the founding members, Judd Plattenburg, to tell me about the start of the gallery.
“We’d been talking about starting a gallery for years” he told me, “and we finally took the plunge in 2022. The founding group was Jeff Smith, Bill (and Marty) Welch, Bill Woody and me. Since then we’ve added photographers and there are now a total of 12 of us.”
“Each photographer here has a different style and each focuses on a different subject area. My work includes a lot of shots taken from the water. Paddling is a hobby of mine and I love connecting my paddling hobby with my photography hobby. I am also showing quite a few shots taken in Cuba right now. I’ve visited there six times and have gotten great photos on each trip.”
“The photos you see on that wall are by Bill and Marty Welch. They are nature photographers and they’ve travelled from the Amazon to the Arctic Circle to get great photos. Marty has a photo of a polar bear cub cuddling with its mother that I just love. To get it they took a small plane to an island in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska.”
“The photos on display here are always changing, and sometimes even the whole theme of an area in the gallery changes. Bill Woody has been exhibiting his Urban Exploration photos for a while and he gave a talk about it last Saturday. Now I think he’s going to change everything and show his rural Ohio landscapes.”
I asked about the price range of the work in the gallery.
“Photography is generally less expensive than other art forms such as painting and sculpture. We have some pieces priced below $100 but most of the work is in the $200 to $400 range. Photography is also a lot more flexible than other art forms. Sometimes a person will like a work on display but its size is too great, so we print a smaller (and less costly) version for the customers. Other times a person is trying to make a dramatic statement in a large room, so we enlarge a photo he likes and make it 5 feet long.”

Sugarcreek Photography Gallery
15 West Franklin St.
Bellbrook, OH 45305

Hours:

Thurs & Fri
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Sat & Sun 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Or call 973-317-0170 for Appt

Dayton At Work and Play: Nate Lansangan of KungFu BBQ

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Four food vendors are now open at The Silos. Each operates out of a 20 foot shipping container located in a corner of the building. In the center you have a bar and lots of seating. I plan to sample food from each vendor, starting with KungFu BBQ.
I asked Nate about the origins of his business.
“In 2020 my father and I cooked 20 meals and served them to friends in the food industry” Nate told me. “They liked our food and posted about it on social media. Their encouragement lead us to cook at a few pop-ups and then to buy a food truck in 2021. The food truck was successful and lead to us being invited to open a spot at Wright Pat and now this location at the Silos.”
What’s your food background?
“My mom grew up in Hawaii and is Japanese and German. Dad’s parents were Filipino and German. Both cooked family recipes that I love. I also learned a lot cooking at a boy’s school in New York. The kids came from 18 different countries and when I’d enlist them to help in the kitchen they’d show me how to cook some of their favorite foods from home.”
My favorite item from your menu is something different – your pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich. How did that come about?

“I knew people would expect a barbecue restaurant to have a pulled pork sandwich, but I wanted to make ours special. We start with great pork, smoked over cherry wood and apple wood to give it a sweet, slightly fruity taste. Then I added cheese and a peach melba sauce. That tasted good, especially when I learned the best way to toast the bread (from Baker Benji in Dayton’s Old North End) but I felt it still needed something. Apple sauce is often served with pork, so I tried apple slices in the sandwich. I also switched to Havarti cheese, because it goes well with fruit. The result is perfect, at least to my taste.”
The sandwich is also perfect to my taste. The only problem is that I may not sample anything else on the KungFu BBQ menu. I may just stick with that sandwich.

810 E. First
Dayton, OH 45402

Tuesday – Thursday 4-10 PM
Friday 4 PM – Midnight
Saturday 11 AM – Midnight
Sunday 11 AM – 7 PM