Tear Drops Steak House to open in downtown Dayton is operated by uncle-nephew duo

“We as Daytonians have to be proud of our community and we have to make it right to get people to come to Dayton,” Johnson said in an interview on Jan. 30. “We have a lot to offer here and we want to be a part of that.”

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

Being proud of where you came from

Johnson is a 1979 Trotwood-Madison High School graduate who has been running clubs throughout the Dayton and Cincinnati region for three decades.

He started his entrepreneur journey a few years after graduating high school with a CD and tape store — getting him into the music scene — before opening Club KIXX.

Johnson went on to own and operate several other clubs including The Fox in Dayton, Celebrities in Cincinnati and The Arena in Dayton before opening Members Only 937 five years ago.

Guests must be members to enjoy the club, but anyone is welcome to stop by and buy food.

He also owns Bozacks Cocktail Lounge on East Third Street, the diner on East Fourth and North St. Clair streets and the building next door to Members Only 937 where he hopes to open a banquet hall.

“I’m proud of where I’m from,” Johnson said. “I wear it on my shoulder all the time.”

The start of Tear Drops

Johnson is an avid traveler who first thought of opening a steak house in the Dayton region on a trip to Miami, Fla. He recalled sitting in a steak house and thinking how nice it would be to have something similar back home.

“That was one of the main vocal points where what I saw was what I wanted,” Johnson said. “This opportunity came along no more than two weeks ago.”

He said Demetrius Wright, the owner of 1Eleven Flavor House, had reached out to him to see if he was interested in the building.

Johnson and Jones had been looking at a few places across the region to build a restaurant together and they thought downtown would be a perfect spot.

“This is our time,” Johnson said.

Jones is a 2002 Meadowdale High School graduate. He went on to Cincinnati State and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Culinary Arts Studies and Business Management Hospitality. Four years later, he started his catering business, Platinum Caterers LLC.

“The food that he provides and the service that we’re going to give this city is going to be something no one else has ever seen,” Johnson said. “We’re really going to go above and beyond. I want this to be one of the best steakhouses in Ohio.”

What to expect

The steak house will feature elevated fine dining with servers giving guests a show. For example, the server will top the steak with the restaurant’s signature “tear drop,” a mixed herb garlic butter, that the guest can watch melt down the steak.

“It’s going to be a show that no other steak house is doing,” Johnson said. “I think his touch, his presentation, his pride that he takes into his food is what’s going to make a big difference.”

They are in the midst of building the menu, but some items customers can expect include:

The steak house will be open for lunch and dinner with a bar program available as well. They have plans to stay open later in the evening, so guests can get a meal at 10 or 11 p.m.

Johnson said they hope to add a patio to the restaurant, in addition to valet parking. Street parking is available.

The meaning behind the name

The name of the business comes from the idea that “the food tastes so good it makes you shed a tear,” Johnson said.

“You can’t get enough of that,” Johnson said. “That’s the idea. That’s the tear drop.”

He hopes this is just the start of Tear Drops Steak House — with multiple locations coming down the road.

At the end of the day, the steak house “is all about our community.”

“This is a Dayton thing,“ Johnson said. ”We are one. We are all together. Every single person in this community is invited to come here.”

CONTACT US

Have a food tip or local dining question? Email Reporter Natalie Jones at natalie.jones@coxinc.com.