110520_GYS

GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 21 It all started in 1948, when Brenner’s Meat Market, which formerly occupied that space, was going out of busi- ness. At the same time, “Doc” Erbaugh, of the Erbaugh Drug Store next door, was looking to get rid of his soda fountain, and suggested that Dick and his brother-in-law, Norm Thomas (“Tom”), move into the former meat market and start a restaurant there. They purchased the soda fountain and booths from Erbaugh for around $500 and added a grill. Dick and Babs became the sole managers and owners a few years later. There was a door between Dick and Tom’s and the drugstore. Everyone ate there. It was like a neighborhood bar without alcohol. In addition to the booths, you could sit on the stools and eat with people from all walks of village life and get to know them. Real community builder. —Marcia Wallgren The operation didn’t change much over the decades. For years, Dick and Tom’s served the “early bird” breakfast: bacon and eggs at a bargain price. The “wimpy” was a staple from the beginning, as was homemade meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, smoked sausage and vegetable soup, according to a News article, which did not define what a wimpy was. The restaurant’s clientele was always almost exclusively local, and 60% of it connected to Antioch College, the couple told the News in 1979. I miss Dick and Tom’s terribly. Totally working class diner where they called you “honey.” —Jennifer Berman The restaurant closed soon after, in 1981, when they retired. It then became the Village Coffee Shop, oper - ated by Mary and Don Boles until 1990, when Jonathan Brown opened the Sunrise Cafe. Although the space looks a lot different, one can still get a good cup of coffee and meal at 259 Xenia Ave. Other missed places Restaurants, bars & coffee shops, food & beverage: Iko’s Harmony Cafe, Chili Lites Cafe, K&N Deli, Main Squeeze, Back Chat Cafe, Brother Bear’s Coffee Shop, Gypsy Cafe, 68 Grill, Eddie’s Drive-Thru, Tastee Freeze, Top of the Glen, George’s Deli, Pizza King, Carlisle Meat Market, Organic Grocery, Ninth House Life Foods, Antioch Tea Room, the Black Orchid, Meskie Brown’s Ethiopian Restau- rant, Yellow Gulch Saloon and Restaurant, MaJaGa, William’s Eatery, the Spiral, NutHaus, Webb Coffee - house, Party Pantry. Stores & shops: Erbaugh & Johnson’s, Phantasm Arcade, Ken Simon’s Drum and Frame Shop, “would you, could you” In a Frame, Mysteries from the Yard, Movieworks/Photoworks, Yoga Springs, C&O Skate Shop, Rexall’s Drugs, Ott Shop, Oten Art Gallery, Senior Citizens Thrift Store, Hole in the Wall, Standing Room Only, Records & Fresh Vegetables, Clockworks/ Bruning’s Clock Shop, Cream O’ the Crop, La Llama Place, Hasser’s Barbershop, Mr. Fub’s Party, Knowles Green, No Common Scents, Love and the Great Outdoors, Furay’s Gift Shop, Village Lanes, Emmett’s Barbershop, Joe Holly’s Cleaners, Moody Shoes, Rita Caz, Colbert Col- lection, the Black Orchid, the Four Directions, Elsewhere Books, Axel Bahnsen’s Photo Studio, Stag’s Cleaners, Kings Yard Goods, Village Gallery and Guitar. PHOTO: YS NEWS ARCHIVE Dick and Babs Bullen, here in 1979, ran Dick & Tom’s coffee shop and restaurant from 1948 to 1981. PHOTO: YS NEWS ARCHIVE John Ott ran the Ott Shop, a memorable place full of weird items. John Ott was a character. We ran an obituary, then a retraction. Great imports. He had these [Steiff] bears I wanted but I was terrified of him. —Dan Schiff S TRENGTHENING C OMMUNITY through P ERMANENTLY A FFORDABLE H OMES Contact us for membership, home buyer information, rentals, or to join our home buyer coaching program. Visit our website: www.yshome.org Email: info@yshome.org | 937-767-2790 Eric Espinosa, M.D. Board Certified Urologist SPECIALIZING IN • Erectile Dysfunction • Botox & Biofeedback Treatment of Incontinence • Bladder Cancer • Vasectomy • Kidney Stones • Laser Treatment of Prostate www.UrologySpecialistsOfOhio.com 937-342-9260 Offices in Beavercreek, Springfield & Xenia