Dayton937

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

Bill Franz

Dayton at Work and Play: Tour of Judge Steven K. Dankof’s courtroom

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Recently three of my NOT CRIMINAL pieces were exhibited at the Edward A. Dixon Gallery (222 N St Clair). I was with Ed Dixon at the gallery when Judge Dankof came in and bought one of the pieces. He said he planned to hang it in his courtroom, and that he’d invite us there when he had it up.
We visited last week. You can tell before you even enter that Judge Dankof’s courtroom is unique. His door has a PLEDGE OF FAIRNESS plaque, inspired by one used in all courts in Alaska. In the pledge, the judge promises that he will listen to any person involved in a proceeding, that he will answer their questions, and that he will treat them with respect.
Entering the courtroom you see a lot of art, including two beautiful pieces by the Judge’s wife, artist Nancy Dankof. One was Nancy’s portrait of Dayton’s Grafton Payne. My NOT CRIMINAL piece was hung at the front of the courtroom near a portrait of Frederick Douglass.
At the rear of the courtroom there were three portraits. Two show William Sherman and Ulysses Grant, Union generals from Ohio. The third shows capitol policeman Eugene Goodman who single-handedly diverted a mob of January 6 rioters away from the Senate chambers. There were also portraits of Bobby Kennedy, and a quote by John Lewis: “If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it”.
I asked Judge Dankof why he had filled his court with art. “There’s a lot of stress in a courtroom – on defendants, jurors, lawyers and even on the judge” he explained. “I should do anything I can to reduce that level of stress. A prosecuting attorney once asked a prospective juror to look at the art in the courtroom and use one word to describe it. She said ‘Welcoming.’ That’s exactly what I was going for.”
The Judge told me he’d gotten several positive comments about the NOT CRIMINAL piece since he’d put it up, including from an attorney from Mexico City who was in the courtroom as an interpreter. Thirty of my NOT CRIMINAL pieces are now in people’s homes, at church, at non-profits, in lawyer’s offices and now in a courtroom. If you’d like one, they are available for the cost of printing. Contact me at [email protected]

 

Dayton at Work and Play: Covered Wagon Farm Market

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My wife and I decided to combine a drive through the countryside with shopping for mums and other fall decorations. We ended up visiting Covered Wagon Farm Market for the first time.
There were plenty of flowers at the market, as you can see from the photos, plus the widest assortment of pumpkins and gourds I’ve ever seen, but that was just the beginning. The main business at this market is food.
The Covered Wagon Farm Market was started in 2009 by a farm family who had been selling wholesale produce and going to farmers’ markets. They decided to open a family-run business next to their farm. The market was a success and has expanded several times.
They have fresh produce, a large selection of private label canned goods and frozen fruits and vegetables, a sandwich shoppe with a dining area, and a large full service deli. They also make fudge and ice cream in the store.
For me, the main attraction is their bakery. Before visiting, I’d heard Covered Wagon described as an Amish bakery, but I learned that the family who owns the market, and many of their employees, are German Baptists. Apparently, the cooking and baking styles of German Baptists are quite like that of the Amish.
Throughout the store people are handing out samples of food. When my wife and I tried a sample of one of their specialties – the Cinnamon sugar pretzel sticks – we looked at each other and Laurie said, “How much should we buy?” What we bought didn’t last the day. We’ll get more the next time we’re in the neighborhood.

Covered Wagon Farm Market
607 N Main St
Englewood, OH  45322

937-832-0807

Dayton at Work & Play: Culp’s Cafe

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Several people had suggested we try the new menu at Culp’s Café, which is located at the entrance to Carillon Historical Park. Admission to the restaurant is FREE, so you don’t need to pay to enter the park to use the restaurant. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 3pm
My wife and I had lunch at the café and tried some of their new items. I had a shrimp and grits bowl, with lots of shrimp, fried green tomatoes, bacon and other good stuff. My wife had the bacon and fig jam sandwich. We each tasted both items and loved them. A woman overheard us talking about how happy we were with our meal and introduced herself. She was Carol Calzada and she told us that she and her husband were now operating Culp’s Café.

Jose and Carol Calzada, at Culp’s Cafe

Carol told me she and her husband came to the U.S. from Mexico when they were young children. They grew up in Chicago. She said her husband was the chef and had a long background in the industry, having cooked in restaurants around the U.S. and Europe. When they moved to Dayton with their four children, he worked at well-known restaurants like Anticoli’s and l’Auberge.

I came back to get a photo of Jose with his wife and learned a bit more about his background. He told me about the time he cooked for Julia Child, the writer and TV personality who brought French cooking to America.
“This happened at the start of my career” he told me. “I was the sous chef in a small French restaurant in Chicago. Julia Child called and reserved a table for eight. We prepared squab for her, even though it was not on our menu. At the conclusion of the meal Julia Child and the others at the table said they loved our food and we gave them a tour of our small kitchen. They must have also loved the wine we carried, because I remember their table of eight ordered ten bottles of wine.”
Even without wine, my wife and I loved Jose’s food at Culp’s Café. You should check it out.
at Historical Carillon Park
1000 Carillon Blvd

Dayton at Work and Play: Mad River Pulp & Paper

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Mad River Pulp & Paper at Carillon Historical Park
I’ve haven’t been to Carillon for a year or two. In the past I visited regularly and took lots of photos. I thought it would be fun to get to know the place again and take some new photos. Thought I’d start with their new paper mill exhibit.
I knew that this region was one of the country’s most important paper manufacturing areas. I assumed that was because of the availability of inexpensive wood, but that’s not it. Early mills made paper out of rags.
The rags were put into a tub of water and then beat to a pulp. A screen was put into the vat to collect some of the pulp. Then it was dried and eventually pressed to make paper sheets. The sheets were hung from the ceiling until they were dry enough to sell.
I think the reason this area became a leading paper manufacturer was because of the area’s water. There was waterpower to beat rags to a pulp and water gave access to markets via the rivers and canals. Later, as the importance of waterpower and water transportation declined, the area still had an important asset – a workforce that understood paper making.
The new Paper Mill is next to the Marie Aull Tribute Garden, which reminded me that I have personally benefited from Dayton’s early papermaking history. Marie’s husband owned a very successful business, Aull Brothers Paper and Box Company. The profits from that business allowed them to own property north of Dayton. Marie Aull was an avid environmentalist and her expertise, and her gifts of land and money, gave us two of my favorite Dayton places, Aullwood Garden MetroPark and Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm.

Dayton at Work and Play: Moon River Dayton Vintage

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Vintage shops at Front Street
Front Street (1001 E Second) is known as the area’s largest community of artists and art galleries, but I was recently reminded that it’s also a shopping spot. They held a Vintage Shop Hop, where people visited six different vintage shops located in Front Street’s Building 100. I missed that event but decided to visit one of the shops – Moon River Dayton Vintage I picked that one because of its name. I’m old enough (vintage enough?) to remember when Moon River was a hot new song and a favorite of mine.
Regular hours for Moon River are Saturday 11-4 and First Fridays, when all the shops and studios of Front Street are open, or you could do as I did and contact Moon River’s owner Ami Bement (937-416-1109) and arranged a time to visit. The store is located just inside Door C-D. When I arrived, I learned that Moon River shares space with another vintage shop, Mongdog Collective owned by Cathy Mong.
Ami told me she’s been collecting vintage items for about 10 years and selling them at various antique shows under the name Moon River. She met Cathy at these events and found out that they were both running out of storage and needed to make a change. The two decided to share this space in Front Street about a year ago.
I was drawn to their large selection of Hawaiian shirts. I could have used one when I went to the Weird Al concert this summer. They also have vintage pottery, jewelry, linens, and some furniture. The shop spills out into the large hallway and they have filled their walls outside the shop with a lot of artwork.
If you’re going to First Friday’s Art Hop at Front Street this week you should check out Moon River and Mongdog Collective. You could even purchase one of those cool Hawaiian shirts they have and then tour the open studios and art galleries in style.

Dayton at Work and Play: La Poblanita

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La Poblanita (470 N Springboro Pike)
I was running errands near the Dayton Mall and decided to stop for lunch at La Poblanita, a restaurant in the rear of this grocery store. I had some questions about the menu, and my waitress asked Ismael, one of the owners, to help me out.
I learned that La Poblanita is a family business, run by Ismael, his brother, his sister and her husband. A few months ago, they started this grocery store and the attached restaurant. If you’ve ever been involved with starting a business, you’d know what a monumental undertaking that is – starting two very different businesses – a grocery store and a restaurant – at the same time.
Ismael told me that they wanted the restaurant to offer authentic food from Mexico, and a few items from Ecuador and Venezuela – the type of food they cook for themselves at home. “Try this salsa” he said. “Taste the roasted peppers and tomatoes. It’s a salsa like we have at home.”
I ordered a light lunch – volcanes, a corn tortilla toasted on the grill with cheese, chicken and guacamole. Then Ismael brought me three small glasses of his Aguas Frescas, which he said they make from scratch. One was horchata, a sweet drink made from rice and cinnamon. One was Hibiscus water. The third was tamarind water. I especially like horchata.
When my wife and I visited the restaurant for dinner recently I skipped the horchata and tried one of their Mexican beers instead. I had a very large sandwich called torta. It was stuffed with marinated pork, beans, cheese onions, pineapple and a few other things. Served with jalapenos and two of their homemade sauces.
My wife had pollo con mole – chicken topped with a delicious mole sauce.
Prices are reasonable, so it’s a good place to try some new types of dishes without wrecking the budget. We’ll be back.

Dayton At Work and Play: Duohome

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I find that stores run by artists tend to be interesting places, so after dropping my art off at the Springfield Museum of Art I visited Duohome (149 W Jefferson St, Springfield, OH).
I first visited the building back in 2016 to tour the art studio of Vicki Rulli and her husband Tom Heaphey. They bought an old industrial building in Springfield and then opened Itinerant Studio. It is a production art studio that sells art to designers, hotels and boutiques all over the world. Their work is beautiful. The black & white photo shows Tom and Vicki back in 2016.
During the pandemic the couple started renovating areas of the building that hadn’t been used. Two years ago, they opened Duohome. Vicki was there and I asked her to describe the store and how it came about.
“We’ve been selling to the design trade since 2008 with showrooms in New York, High Point and Atlanta. The brands we’re selling here have been our friends and colleagues, people selling alongside us at the same shows. We think of this as a “Lifestyle Store” and it’s modeled after how we live our own life.”
“Every single product that comes into DUO HOME must follow our “Four Goods”. They must be made by a good company that treats their employees well, have intentional and good design, be made with good materials, and have a good story to tell.”
Then Vicki started telling me some of the good stories of some of her products – about the employee-owned Ohio furniture company and the third-generation Danish company and others. I was reminded of my friend London Coe who sells chocolate from all over the world. If I ask about a chocolate bar, she can tell me about the person who made it and how it was made and the history of chocolate in that part of the world.
So, when you’re headed to Springfield to see the members’ show at the Springfield Museum of Art, check out Duohome and let Vicki show you some good products with good stories.

Dayton at Work & Play: Busy Beaver Arts & Crafts

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Visit to Busy Beaver Arts & Crafts (3445 Dayton Xenia Road)
A friend recently suggested I visit this store. “I went to the store looking for buttons” she told me. “They had quite a few buttons and everything you’d need for any craft project – ribbons, beads, yarn, patterns, sequins, material, and stained glass supplies. They also have stained glass classes with a one year wait list.”
I remembered I’d visited the shop about eight years ago at the suggestion of an artist friend. She thought I’d find all the art supplies photogenic.
When I visited for the first time, “the yarn lady” showed me around. “This is the ribbon room. Here is the counted cross stitch room. Here are some of our yarns, including a lot of novelty yarns. These are our miniatures, and everything you need to build your own doll house. These are supplies for people who fix clocks, and here are quilting supplies. Our art supplies department is over there.”
I remember that the store was so packed that it was hard to back up far enough to get a photo. Now I can use my iPhone, which lets me take closer photos.
When I visited this time, I met Danielle and asked her if anything had changed since I last visited. She said that their fused glass classes and fused glass supplies were new. As we talked, Danielle was working on a fused glass craft. She said she’d paint a face on each of the small pieces she was cutting out. Then, after the pieces were fused, she’d glue them onto small magnets.
Danielle also told me the store had a new owner – the daughter of the couple who started the business over 30 years ago. She came back to Dayton over ten years ago to work in the business and then recently became the owner.

Dayton at Work and Play: Tony & Pete’s

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Visit to Tony & Pete’s (129 East Third)
This sandwich shop opened in 2022, but this was our first visit. I decided I wanted to try it when I heard that their business was growing so fast that they had rented the shop next door. They’ll bake bread and do some of their prep work and their catering work there while customers continue to order and eat at the original shop.
I ordered their Stretto’s spicy salami sandwich featuring salami, parmesan, arugula, spicy spread and Calabrian honey. My wife chose Turkey Pesto, which has turkey, mozzarella, house pesto, roasted red peppers and arugula. The sandwiches were delicious and large – more than we could finish. We decided that next time we’d split one sandwich and then walk to Val’s Bakery for a dessert.
There’s quite a bit of seating inside, but we chose the patio and watched a steady stream of customers enter. In addition to the sandwiches, they have salads and a few grocery items.

I read that Tony & Pete’s was started by a husband-and-wife team that met at Wright State. Like many of us they worked part-time during college. By the time they graduated they had moved up to food service management positions and decided to stay in that industry. They worked in well-known restaurants in Cincinnati, in New York and finally in Chicago. When the pandemic hit they moved back to Dayton and started planning their own business here.

The business has been growing rapidly, and Tony & Pete’s says they may soon be expanding to new locations.

Dayton at Work and Play: Val’s Bakery

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Our first visit to Val’s Bakery (25 S St Clair, Downtown)
People have suggested I try Val’s Bakery ever since they opened a few years ago. Val’s started out sharing space with Dished! in Kettering. After only 8 months, they opened their own location on Brown St. Just 6 months later, they had outgrown the space and are now in a larger space downtown.
A few days ago, Val’s Bakery won Best Bakery in the Best of Dayton competition, and I decided I really needed to try this place out. We went Saturday morning when downtown parking is free, and found a line outside waiting to get in. We used our time in line to talk to other patrons about what we should order. We opted for a plain croissant, an almond croissant, a blueberry-lime scone and a chocolate chip cookie.
We were glad to see that there was lots of seating, so we sat and tried two of our treats right away. My scone was amazing, and the plain croissant we ate that evening was as good as any I’ve ever had.
I don’t normally do food photography, but Val’s website talks about the importance of the laminations in making their European-style pastries. They say their treats have “hundreds of flaky layers that melt in your mouth,” so I thought I’d show a cross-section of one of their coconut chocolate croissants. I bought that at Val’s drive-through coffee bar (5707 Bigger) a few days after we went to the downtown location. I cut this one in half and shared it with my wife. We both licked our plate, so we’d get every crumb.
After people suggested Val’s Bakery, I waited a few years before I finally tried it. Then I bought their pastries twice in less than a week. That’s how good they are. I will be a regular.
Val’s Bakery

25 S St Clair St,
Dayton, OH 45402


Wed – Fri 7am – 2pm
Sat 9am – 2pm
Sun 10am – 2pm

Coffee Bar by Val’s Bakery

Drive-Thru

5707 Bigger Road,
Kettering OH 45440

Mon 7am to 6pm
Tues – Sat 7am to 3pm

Pastries come fresh from the bakery every:

Wednesday – Fri 7am to sold out

Saturday 9am to sold out

Dayton At Work and Play: Independence Day

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On July 4, 1776 the members of the Continental Congress put their lives and property at risk as they signed the Declaration of Independence. The second sentence of that document is one of the best known in the English language: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
To the 55 rich white men who signed the document, that sentence referred to the rights of people like themselves. They weren’t suggesting that women were created equal to men, or that Native Americans were created equal to those who came here from Europe. But their words inspired those and other groups to fight for equal rights.
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You can track the progress of these groups by looking at the dates when the group gained the right to vote. The history is complex because voting rules vary by state, but the progression goes something like this:
1828 all white men, not just property owners, can vote
1870 the constitution’s 15th amendment gives black men the right to vote. Some states comply
1890 Native Americans can vote
1920 Women can vote
1965 Voting Rights Act forces all states to follow the constitution and let Blacks vote
The struggle for voting rights continues. The current Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act, which allows the party in power to make voting more difficult for groups that tend to support the opposition. But much progress has been made since July 4, 1776.
Today we celebrate the brave men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and the millions of brave men and women who were inspired by their lofty words and worked to make the promise of equal rights come true for all Americans.

Dayton at Work and Play: Kokopelli Gift House

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Visit to Kokopelli Gift House (4125 Little York Road).

By chance, I saw a photo of this store online. It looked so interesting I was surprised I had never heard of it. From the sign I could see they have Native American jewelry and rocks and crystals. I didn’t see how a business like that could make it in Dayton.
“We’ve been here for 30 years” Lisa told me. She explained that she and her mother were rockhounds, and that they lived in the West quite a while. They started trading some of their stones to Native Americans for their jewelry and built a wholesale jewelry business.

Thirty years ago, Lisa and her mother returned to Dayton and opened this shop. Now she runs it with her daughter. She still deals with some of the same Native American families she first traded with.
I asked about the store’s name and Lisa explained that the figure on her sign (bent over playing a flute) is Kokopelli. He is a fertility figure in the tradition of some of the tribes in the Southwest. He’s also known as a trickster.
The store is packed with interesting items, and there are signs explaining things to a novice like me. For only $3.50 I might want to carry a piece of turquoise with me, to protect myself from depression, exhaustion and panic attacks. I’m sure that my wife would feel that the turquoise jewelry in the shop would be a better way to get that protection.

Dayton at Work and Play: Dayton Humane & Co

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Visit to Dayton Humane & Co. – A Resale Boutique (Crosspointe Shopping Center, Centerville).
Brian Weltge has been the Humane Society’s president for more than 20 years and I’ve enjoyed seeing all of the new things he’s done with the organization, things like opening a Veterinary Hospital or starting the MeowZa Cat Boutique at the Dayton Mall. I’ve been looking forward to checking out their new Resale Boutique.
Stephanie showed me around. She said they’ve been researching this move for more than a year. When they got this space – a former Marshall’s store – they saw they could create something unlike most thrift stores. With this layout you can see everything that’s currently available.
I asked one of the shoppers what she thought of the store. “I found a nice top for $4 and a word game for only $2. I’m hoping I can get my grandkids to try the game instead of doing everything on their phones. I like the way they’ve laid things out here so you can find everything. I’ll be back.”
I checked out their artwork and found a very broad range of price points – from a $20 framed print to a large piece for $500. I thought $500 was high for a thrift store until I checked out the artist online. Paintings by Michael Nisperos regularly sell for $2,000 and more.
I love the way they’re promoting the store “It’s more than just shopping – every purchase supports the lifesaving work of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, a no-kill animal welfare organization.”
At my stage of life I’m donating a lot more items than I’m buying. I was glad to see that they offer a pickup service if you have large items to donate. Just email them at [email protected] The store is open 10 to 6 Wednesday through Friday, 11 to 7 Saturday and 12 to 4 Sunday.

Dayton at Work And Play: Deepika Singh

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Conversation with Deepika Singh, co-owner (with her husband Jay) of Gulzar’s Indian Cuisine (across the street from the Dayton Dragons at 217 N. Patterson Blvd).

I love eating at Gulzar’s, and stopped in to check out the restaurant’s new space, which is adjacent to their old space. I asked Deepika how she came to be in the restaurant business.
“My husband Jay and I were both born in India and came here as children. When we married we decided to join Gulzar’s, Jay’s family business. The original Gulzar’s was started in Richmond, Indiana by my husband’s father. He named the restaurant Gulzar’s after his own father’s name. Now Jay’s older brother runs the restaurant in Richmond and we run this place in Dayton.”
“We opened downtown three years ago and are really happy with how well it’s gone. Some people who live or work downtown love Indian food and were glad to have us here. Others are new to this type of food but open to trying new things. We have a buffet for lunch every day so people can try all kinds of food and discover what they like the best.”
“When this space next to us opened up we decided to rent it and to give the restaurant a new look. As we designed this new space we asked our customers for ideas. Martin Pleiss, a customer who works at the Dayton Art Institute was a big help. The restaurant now seats 168, more than twice the seating they had before.”
“My husband and his father are the cooks here. You mentioned that you’ve enjoyed eating here, Bill. The dishes you ate were northern Indian food. In this new space we have a new menu. We’ve added some south Indian items you may want to try.”
I asked Deepika what she did before coming to Gulzar’s. “I was a teacher, and I loved it. I was born to be a teacher, and I feel like I still teach. Teaching is part of running a business.”

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.