In 1997, 7 gentlemen, all with varied backgrounds, joined together to purchase a vacant eyesore property that formerly housed a Shell gas station. The Shell station was built in 1965. This historic, but dilapidated site would soon tell the tale of an iconic Irish pub.
On Monday, their 35th anniversary they are rollin back the menu to price from 1998 for one day only:
Owner Steve Tieber sat down with us to tell us the tale of how the Dublin Pub came to be;
DD: How long had DubPub been a concept in your minds before it actually opened?
ST: Well, it actually started as a cigar bar. We all had a passion for Cigars and Guinness. When we realized we all had Irish heritage in common we knew it had to be some sort of Irish pub, and that’s when we heard about an authentic Irish pub concept that had opened in Buckhead I’min Atlanta called FADO. This was the first Irish pub concept where the Irish pub was built and designed in Ireland and shipped over. Although that sounded amazing, we did not have that kind of money. So we knew that we were going to have to build it all in Dayton. When we were looking for a location at one time we had looked at the second floor of the building that Ned Peppers is in. Jim Schaefer who was the owner had just optioned the Shell gas station which had been vacant for six years because he was interested in putting a drive-through on the corner of fifth and Wayne but he was having some problems getting that done. That’s when he suggested selling the property to us. He already had a liquor license which back then the Oregon district had a cap on 17 licenses and this was one of the original 17. It was actually a license that at one time belong to Plums which was the lower level of the Wiley’s building before Wileys moved over there. So all in all we opened May 15 of 1998 with 29 employees. So all in all we open May 15 of 98, but this whole process started in early 97 so it only took about a year and a half from concept to opening.
2. You must always be working in your business and creating new events and keep your menus fresh.
3. Customer service, Customer Service, Customer a service.
ST: Future plans are to expand our front patio with a new design. We have had a hell of a ride with highlights of Sheryl Crow playing on our stage. The Violent Femmes, Blue Oyster Cult, and Berlin have all played the pub. Quentin Tarantino had dinner at the pub after seeing “How the West was Won” at the Neon with the Cinerama wide screen experience. Lots of great memories, now 25 more years of memories are on our agenda.