Tell us a bit about yourself and your business. What made you decide to open your own small business and how long have you been in operation?
I’m Jeff Finkelstein from Basil’s on Market. Basil’s is a full service restaurant on the river in downtown Dayton. We are open for dinner five days a week, Tuesday-Thursday 3-9 p.m. and 3-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s a casual, fun place to go out to eat dinner. Our first location was in Troy, and we currently have three locations.
I started Basil’s because it was time to venture out and start something on my own. I’ve been in the industry for 25 years at chains or in distribution. We opened our first location in 2014 and the chef, Todd Uhlir, came from Troy Country Club. We met Jason Woodard from Woodard Development and we were looking to expand, and downtown seemed like a good opportunity. We’ve been downtown since 2015.
What do you enjoy about working in downtown Dayton?
I enjoy the people, and the fact that it’s a different pace. It’s a little more laid back downtown. I love the fact that we were the first restaurant on the river. It was nice to be part of the foundation laid for future growth.
How is your business coping with the pandemic and how can people support you now?
The pandemic has helped us realize that we could slim down our options and we were able to offer just as much, pay our people and give them a better quality of life and still be able to produce what we needed to produce to be successful. The guest isn’t losing any of the experience. We changed our internal procedures to make it a better experience.
Realistically, the best way to help is to support the local independents – then businesses and the small restaurants will continue to thrive. Eat and drink local in your own suburb or downtown as a destination. Eat downtown after work, have your spouse meet you downtown. It is the best patio in all of Dayton. The RiverScape fountain water cannon going off is visible from the patio.
Please support all local downtown businesses!
Basil’s on Market
312 N. Patterson Blvd.
www.basilsonmarket.com
facebook.com/basilsonmarketdayton
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