Update: St. Anne the Tart opened on 3/1/19, and has been earning great early reviews. This reporter is going to conduct some first-hand investigation tomorrow.
In our What’s Going On With series, we dig into a particular Dayton project that’s been in the works for a while and run through its more recent updates. Today’s installment is a business that should soon be serving up tasty baked goods from a location in East Dayton.
Back in January 2017, it was announced that Columbus native Megan Smith would be opening a bakery called St. Anne the Tart at 1509 E Fifth St. in St. Anne’s Hill. Smith had operated a bakery in Lexington, KY before coming to Dayton, and if all went well with permits and approvals she hoped to open by May.
Smith also purchased the building next-door at 1511 E Fifth, the former home of Anticoli’s restaurant, as a possible next project. Antonio and Sarah Anticoli opened a restaurant there (originally called The Rendezvous) on New Year’s Eve of 1931, and they remained in the neighborhood for decades before moving their operation to Salem Ave.
The Spring opening did not happen, however, and by July the hopeful opening date had been pushed back to Fall 2017. More months went by with little news. An August 2017 newsletter said that “the progress is happening but not as quickly as we’d like. (So says every person involved in a renovation project.) Some days we’re discouraged and other days we’re encouraged. Regardless, every day we’re one day closer to opening the coffeehouse and bakery on the hill…”
After that, the project changed course. In April 2018 Smith announced she was switching the location of St. Anne the Tart from 1509 E Fifth to 1500 E Fifth, a move which would delay the project’s opening until Fall 2018. Benefits of the move included “exponentially more space, a larger storefront on Fifth Street, as well as more convenient parking for customers.”
1500 E Fifth, a former violin shop, had been awarded $48,600 in state tax credits in 2017 for a project to convert the building to office space for Columbus talent firm CMAX Advisors . At that time the leader of CMAX Advisors was reported to be a partner in St. Anne the Tart.
The building was constructed c. 1878 and was first known as the Stockert Saloon before becoming Schneble’s pharmacy for at least four decades.
With its new location just down the street from the original one, St. Anne the Tart now looks towards opening sometime this Fall of 2018.
In the meantime, Smith has been doing quite a bit to establish herself in the area, providing baked goods to several Dayton-area events and collaborating with Dorothy Lane Market’s School of Cooking. Smith also has established an urban garden space for St. Anne’s Hill just next to the bakery location. “We not only wanted to grow fresh herbs for our own kitchen, but the idea that a passerby could come and pick fresh basil, cilantro or sage for their own dinner really excited me,” she said.
With anchors like Fifth Street Brew Pub and the new Gem City Catfe already drawing crowds, St. Anne the Tart would be a welcome addition to an increasingly vibrant St. Anne’s Hill.
Original location of 1509 E Fifth St (left) with 1511 E Fifth on its right
New location for St. Anne the Tart at 1500 E Fifth St
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