Former Wiley’s GM to lead Ditto Bar’s Uptown Centerville debut

The business is the first retail project from the Prime Residence Group, according to managing partner Bruce Harlamert.

Prime Residence Group is “multi-family ownership and management platform” in the Dayton/Cincinnati market.

Ditto Bar will feature two covered outdoor patios and, while it won’t serve full meals, it will offer bar snacks and occasionally host food trucks and weekly events. The business will be led by Erica Hamden, former general manager of Wiley’s Comedy Club, which operated in the Oregon District until it closed in 2024.

“I worked there for 22 years,” she said. “Down there in the district, you’re part of a family and a community and I kind of hope to bring that same vibe here to Centerville with the bar that we’re doing.

Harlamert said Ditto Bar was a good opportunity for Prime Residence Group to lean into Uptown’s evolving economic landscape while addressing unmet needs in the market.

”If you picture all the nice Uptown quality places, this will be quality," Harlamert told this news outlet. “This will be a very friendly environment.”

Greg L. Lauterbach, Architect is Ditto Bar’s architect.

It will be furnished with reclaimed wood, copper accents and “brick-style charm,” according to Troy-based Level MB Construction, which is handling renovations for the project.

“We’re doing a lot of updates, but we’re also trying to make this feel like the bar has been here for years, your local neighborhood bar where you can come catch a ball game, catch a game of darts, or have a nice drink on the patio,” Hamden said.

Ditto Bar will be looking to hire approximately 10 employees, she said.

The name “Ditto” is a nod to a phrase she shares with her mother and friends, Hamden said.

“It’s just one of our shorthand words that we use when we say, ‘I love you’ or ‘Hey, me too,” Hamden said. “It’s like something quick we reply back, but we know it means a lot to us.”

Hamden said she wants the bar’s name to reflect that sentiment and be a welcoming space “where people come together as friends and family and just have a cohesive time together.”