Chef Dane | Dayton937

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.”