Dalton said his downtown location will remain open until the former insurance building has been renovated and passed inspections. He hopes to be open by October or November, he said.
He said a couple came into Brent’s Smokin’ Butts & Grill and said they wanted to invest in Dalton’s business because of his work ethic.
They told him: “We want to see you succeed.”
“It blew me away,” Dalton said.
He said the “silent partner” purchased the University Boulevard building. It sold for $243,000 on March 29, according to the Butler County Auditor’s Office.
Dalton expects the total investment, the building, renovations and any kitchen equipment, to be between $350,000 to $400,000.
“I try not to think about that too much,” Dalton said with a nervous laugh.
The improvements will be worth the time and investment, he said. The size of the barbecue restaurant will go from 1,500 square feet to 3,500 square feet, from a dining room with 40 seats to 100 seats, and will have more parking than the Central Avenue location that shares a lot with other downtown businesses.
“We have outgrown this space,” he said.
He hopes to offer car-side service at the new location and eventually add a soft serve ice cream parlor.
Dalton has been vocal about how the Central Avenue renovations that are nearing completion have negatively impacted his business. When the city closed Central Avenue for months last year and Dalton lost his on-street parking, he said business dropped significantly.
Recently, he said, Central Avenue was closed for one week and sales dropped 20%.
When customers drive by the restaurant and see the parking lot behind the restaurant full, they tell Dalton they dine elsewhere.
At the new location, Dalton will continue operating his catering business and food truck that he opened eight years ago.
The restaurant, like the Central Avenue location, won’t offer alcohol. Dalton said he and his wife, Kelly, are recovering alcoholics and 10 years sober. He doesn’t want any temptation in his business, he said.
“That’s part of our testimony,” he said.
Brent’s is a family business. The Daltons have three children, Brady, 27, Isabel, 21, and Ava, 17, and the two girls work in the restaurant.
Dalton, 47, a 1994 Middletown High School graduate, said it was important to stay in Middletown. He’s “excited, nervous, anxious, worried” about moving locations, he said.
He’s leaning on his faith.
“God has blessed us with more than we deserve,” he said. “We don’t like to say we’re the best, but we will give you our best.”
After the original Sunshine Cafe burned down about 20 years ago, it was rebuilt and reopened as Sunshine Cafe Bar and Grill. It closed a short time later.
The owners of Redding Insurance opened inside the former restaurant in June 2011, then moved to 110 N. Breiel Blvd. last year.
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