• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dayton Vistas

A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of the Gem City

Connect with Dayton Vistas

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me
  • Categories
    • Historical Dayton
    • New Developments
    • Dayton Culture
  • Article Archives
  • Catalog of Historic Dayton Buildings
  • My Dayton Book

Dayton’s Lost Dominic’s Restaurant: 1957-2007

October 2, 2019 By Andrew Walsh 19 Comments


One of Dayton’s more popular longstanding restaurants was Dominic’s, which for decades occupied a spot on South Main Street across from the Fairgrounds.

The restaurant had just celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, however, when it was sold to Miami Valley Hospital and demolished the following year.

Dominic’s first opened on March 17, 1957, with Dominic Mantia and his wife Sue serving up Italian dishes, pizza, and sandwiches. Son Dick soon took over but he never veered far from the original premise, although the space did significantly expand over time into adjacent buildings, growing from a bar with seating for 50 into a restaurant that could accommodate 325.

Throughout the years, Dominic’s signature item was its garlicky vinegar and oil house dressing, a secret family recipe that even earned a mention on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Staff turnover was low at Dominic’s, with several waitresses, busboys and dishwashers continuing to work there for over 30 years. In 1998, rumors spread of an attempt by the hospital to buy the building and demolish it, but these were quickly squashed by the owners. “The Mantia family wouldn’t do that,” a customer added at the time.

But a decade later, it happened for real, and there was no stopping the wrecking ball. The restaurant’s contents were quickly auctioned off, and it was demolished in a matter of months. There was even more unpleasantness after closure, as the Dominic’s trademark and a buyout agreement became the subject of a legal battle between family members, one of whom was opening a new restaurant. The case was finally settled in 2013.

Here’s the corner building as it appeared at 1066 South Main St:

dominics-restaurant

Now, over a decade later, we look at the same corner and see ….. nothing:

dominics-demolished

The hospital’s expansion strategy seems to be demolish everything nearby and figure out what to do with it later. Hopefully the next phase of development will fill in more of these spaces, as it is on Main and Apple with the construction of a new rehabilitation hospital on a former surface lot.

Back in the 1990s, Dick Mantia spoke of UD student customers who would come back to town years later and say how much the neighborhood had improved. His family hoped the university and hospital would “continue their efforts to revitalize the neighborhood.”



Some great work has been done of course, but the most visible trend since then is the clearing of several once-bustling commercial strips into grassy lots, including a whole block on the west side of Brown Street. And of course this “revitalization” would ultimately claim the very building the Mantia family had run for so many years.

More possibilities for redevelopment exist with the former Fairgrounds across the street, but that will take many years to come to fruition. And for those hoping for more independent operations like Dominic’s instead of a neighborhood dominated by a large medical campus and little else, Old Scratch Pizza opened up in a vacant former paint store only a couple of blocks away, and Ghostlight Coffee’s second location is set to open up next door.

Do you have any memories of Dominic’s in Dayton?

Related Posts:

  • spaghetti warehouse building downtown dayton
    Downtown Dayton Restaurants: 2007 vs. 2018
  • est-est-est-dayton-arcade
    Multiple Restaurants to Open in Dayton Arcade
  • old brown street and warren street
    History of Old and New Brown Street, Split Up by a Freeway
  • Schnitzel, Pierogi, and Ghosts? The Amber Rose in Old North Dayton
    Schnitzel, Pierogi, and Ghosts? The Amber Rose in…
Enjoying Dayton Vistas?
Take a look at Andrew's book Lost Dayton, Ohio. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for periodic updates of new articles.

Filed Under: Dayton Culture Tagged With: Dick Mantia, Dominic Mantia, Dominic's, Miami Valley Hospital, Restaurants

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gary Goetz says

    June 25, 2020 at 2:10 am

    My career started Dominick’s restaurant.I was part of a band called the brotherhood and later I had my own trio of the Gary Goetz. Trio.. dick .help me with my career for many years and Sonny was like a father to me. It breaks my heart that it’s gone.

    Reply
    • Kathy (Burch) Simpson says

      December 29, 2022 at 8:46 pm

      Dominic’s was my very first club date. Sonny took me under his wing as well. Gave me tons of records to listen to and learn from; Carmen McRae, Julie London, Sarah Vaughan, and many more. I will always remember how he helped me in the very beginning of my career.

      Reply
  2. John says

    August 24, 2020 at 1:24 am

    does anyone know what type of pasta Dominics used in its Italian Wedding Soup?

    Reply
  3. Lorna Kemmerer says

    February 21, 2021 at 1:57 pm

    My brother worked in the kitchen and made the famous dressing for the salad! He gave me the recipe and I make it when we want a salad with spaghetti or lasagna!

    Reply
    • Alan says

      February 21, 2021 at 8:50 pm

      Can you share the recipe? I’ve never found a dressing life it and was a favorite.

      Reply
      • Debbie McAfee says

        February 16, 2022 at 3:29 pm

        I found this in a Dayton facebook page.

        Remember Dominic’s? Remember their dressing?
        For those of you who are interested, here is a great recipe to make it at home. (1) Head of Lettuce (I will also buy the bag of salad you can buy at the grocery store); 1/3 cup of Olive Oil; 1/2 cup of sugar; 2oz jar of pimentos; 5 cloves of fresh garlic; 1/2 cup vinegar( I use whites, but any kind will do). Mix the Oil, Sugar, garlic, vinegar and pimentos. Our over the shredded lettuce of bag of premade salad in a large bowl and mix. Let stand for two hours, refrigerate if you like. It is AWESOME!

        Reply
    • Keena says

      February 24, 2021 at 4:57 am

      How cool ! I have the best memories ! I would come home from a date and my mom would say ” I smell the garlic , you’ve been to Dominics ” ha it was THE BEST

      Reply
    • Renee Horne says

      March 15, 2021 at 2:39 pm

      I would love the recipe, had their salads many many times with dry blue cheese crumbles, fabulous! Thank you.

      Reply
    • Vivian says

      October 22, 2021 at 8:36 pm

      Yes, Please can you share the recipe? I’ still to this day remember it. I loved it. Please do share.

      Reply
    • Linda says

      August 3, 2022 at 9:41 pm

      I’d love that salad dressing recipe

      Reply
  4. Terrilynn Griffith says

    February 21, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    Always a favorite place for my birthday celebration as a kid. My family would look forward to going there for celebrations of all kinds. As an adult it was a place for friends to gather after the theater performances, special events and many celebrations.

    Reply
    • Ronald thomas says

      December 9, 2021 at 11:48 pm

      Great Welsh name . My wife was a Griffiths before she married me a Thomas. Her great Grandmothers maiden name was also Thomas 100 years before her birth in Wales.

      Reply
  5. Renee Horne says

    March 15, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    I remember sitting at the bar with Dick Mantia, just chatting, and I mentioned that I would love some cinnamon toast, a few minutes later, here comes Dick with cinnamon toast for me.

    Reply
  6. Fred Butler says

    March 26, 2021 at 2:55 pm

    I worked there for years. The oven man ! Pizza , lasagna , eggplant , manacotti , cannaloni , subs. Many great memories. I would like to thank the Mantia family. Because when i worked there we were one big family. RIP Dick and Sonny !!!

    Reply
  7. Kenneth says

    April 8, 2021 at 1:40 am

    I have lived in Cincinnati since 1979, but I recall Dominic’s as the place for my first college “nice” date. I also dined there with members of my fraternity and other fraternities and their dates. Perhaps unusual for the time but we wore suits and ties. Oh, the garlic.

    Reply
  8. Dan P. says

    February 21, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    Dominic’s was the first restuarant that I went to in Dayton Ohio after I got stationed at Wright-Patt AFB while in the Air Force. The lasagne was AWESOME!

    Reply
  9. Michael Rohm says

    July 19, 2023 at 11:46 pm

    It was Sad to see them shut down, I am in Aviation and traveled to every state for many years. Hundreds of nice Italian restaurants, no one has come close to the Awesome Lasagna Dominics made. Does anyone know if another Family member opened a restaurant and making that same Recipe or where someone might get a copy of the Recipe, I would pay for that to make at home.

    Reply
  10. Jimmy says

    March 20, 2024 at 3:13 pm

    I worked there as a teenager and my sister Teresa worked there for years. I use to love the atmosphere and the people that worked there. That place really keep employees for a long time. Now that my sister has passed looking back on working with her at Dominic’s are my fondest memories with my sister.

    Reply
  11. Jim says

    December 11, 2024 at 9:26 pm

    I’m looking for the Rigatoni Alforno recipe. I was a UD student back
    In the late 80’s. I was 1 of 12 family members who went to UD. My father often spent time in Dayton on business and would take us and all our roommates to dinner at the famous Domenic’s restaurant. We had great service and conversations with longstanding waitress by the name of Betty. She was always great with my father and whoever he brought in with us. Please if anyone has that recipe we would love to have it. Thanks

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search the Dayton Vistas Archives

My book explores a diverse selection of retail, industrial, entertainment and residential sites from Dayton's disappearing legacy.
Read More

About Dayton Vistas

I'm Andrew Walsh, a writer and academic librarian. I research Dayton history, architecture, preservation, and urban redevelopment.

Read More

Get New Posts via Email


Latest Posts

901 keowee st

Award-Winning Architecture at the Corner of Keowee and Webster

historic building at washington and longworth dayton

Midtown Survivors at Washington and Longworth

historic view of east side of main street, downtown dayton

Urban Renewal and Lost Buildings at Main and 3rd

heritage coffeeshop university of dayton built 1903

Lesser-Known Historic Buildings of the University of Dayton

dayton masonic temple

Masonic Temple (Dayton Masonic Center) History

dayton commercial building during construction 1900s

The Commercial Building: Before and During Construction

Browse Historic Dayton

newcom tavern daytonA Catalog of Historic Dayton Buildings (with years, pics, type, area, status, etc.)

Recent Comments

  • Mollie Hauser on The Last Old Buildings on the West Side of Downtown
  • William "Rusty" Pietrzak on The Diner on St. Clair: a History and an Uncertain Future
  • Laura J Merrell on Historic Buildings on the University of Dayton Campus
  • Накрутка мобильными on Lost Commercial Buildings at Main and Franklin

Articles By Topic

Architecture Banking Brown Street Churches Commercial Building Dayton Arcade Dayton Daily News Delco Demolition Downtown East Dayton Features Fidelity Building Fire Blocks District Great Flood of 1913 Historic Homes House Histories Huffman Industrial Buildings John H Patterson NCR Old Dayton Maps Old North Dayton Oregon District Paul Laurence Dunbar Preservation Rare Dayton Photos Restaurants Retail Rike's Sanborn Maps Santa Clara South Park Sports St. Anne's Hill Then and Now Twin Towers University of Dayton Urban Planning Urban Renewal Wayne Avenue West Dayton Windsor Companies Wright-Dunbar Wright Brothers

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro On Genesis Framework · Affiliate Disclosure and Privacy Policy · WordPress · Log in