Credit: Jon Morton Studios
Credit: Jon Morton Studios
The restaurant is located in the former space of Carmel’s Southwest Bar & Grill at 1025 Shroyer Road in Dayton, near the border with Oakwood.
“This has been a restaurant for 70 years,” Dimmick said. “We want to be a catalyst for what’s already a great neighborhood.”
What to expect at Three Birds
Customers can expect a menu featuring New American cuisine such as chicken wings, pimento cheese, tuna tataki, corn dog shrimp, salads, rotisserie chicken, steak frites, cacio e pepe, a smash burger and more.
The smash burger on the menu pays homage to Kittredge’s Oklahoma roots.
Another unique item, the corn dog shrimp, is something Kittredge and Roddick saw at a friend’s restaurant in Austin, Texas and they wanted to put their own version of it on the menu.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“We want to make sure there’s no pretense in what we’re doing,” Dimmick said. “We’re still committed to the same level of quality ingredients — chef-driven menu items that we can feel proud of.”
Three Birds, which will have a full bar, plans to eventually offer seasonal menus to compliment their core menu. This will give their culinary team the opportunity to be creative.
Creating a family friendly space
“I think the experience for families is something that has driven a lot of the intention of this project and it’s reflected all over the place,” Dimmick said.
From the kids menu featuring healthier versions of standard menu items to the plastic kid cups and how they train their team to facilitate an experience with kids, Three Birds offers a family-friendly environment.
For example, the restaurant will offer a “bird’s nest” to children that might need a quick snack before eating their meal.
“I’m very proud of it. As a father of two girls now that are four and two, I have a different perspective on dining out and what’s possible,” Dimmick said. “I think if we can marry a family-friendly environment in the early evenings with some sophistication and push the kids’ palates a little bit here and there it’s going to be really awesome.”
Dimmick worked with his daughter’s Montessori teacher to create a variety of kid-friendly activities that can be ordered off the back of the restaurant’s menu.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
One activity in particular he is excited about is a game similar to I-Spy where the kids will get a set of binoculars and look for hidden bird figurines around the restaurant.
This will not only give kids something different to do, but introduce them to the hobby of birding that is especially prevalent in the Dayton region.
Taking it back to mid-century
The owners were hoping to open Three Birds by the end of 2024, but the building permit process took longer than expected.
Dimmick said in the past it took about four to six weeks, but this time around it took 16 weeks. Once they could start swinging hammers, the build-out took only three months.
“We added 900 square feet to the back of the kitchen, which allowed us to expand the bathrooms,” Dimmick said.
In addition, it gave them more room for prep.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The 4,000-square-foot restaurant seats about 85 people inside and 90 people outside.
The patio features “Lucille,” a celebration maple tree named after Lucille Ball, a famous actress in the 1950s. In the fall, her leaves will turn bright red.
Roddick said they wanted to take the building back to its original era of the Parkmoor, while adding their own flair.
“The original design for that building actually won architectural awards when it was built as the Parkmoor,” Kittredge said.
“Having seen what it originally looked liked, we were really excited to take it back,” Roddick said. “Mid-century modern is one of my favorite periods to design for.”
She took inspiration from interior designer Paul McCobb for the lamps over the big tables and architect Adrian Pearsall for the furniture. There is even a chalkware lamp sitting on the top of one of the booths that was found at the Springfield Antique Center.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The owners created a cozy, homey space where guests feel like they are at a relative’s house sharing a meal with other family members.
With the large, angular windows, there will be lots of plants throughout the inside and outside of the restaurant taking guests out of the urban setting.
A special place in their hearts
When the owners of The Idea Collective came to Dayton in 2016 to open Sueño and Tender Mercy, Carmel’s Southwest Bar & Grill was a place they went to often.
“It has a romantic connection to it as one of the first places we frequented as we were getting acclimated in town,” Dimmick said.
In 2023, they were connected with Bob Byers, the former owner of Carmel’s Southwest Bar & Grill, by mutual friends when they had heard he was thinking about retiring.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“That’s a legacy type of opportunity that you just don’t pass up,” Dimmick said. “It’s so rare. It’s so special.”
At 68 years old, Byers retired and sold the property after 17 years.
What’s behind the name?
The name of the restaurant is a reference to the Bob Marley song “Three Little Birds.”
“Throughout our ups and downs in this process of launching this restaurant group in Dayton, in the middle of the pandemic, whenever we would be feeling down a little bit or be facing some adversity, Ginger would play this song in the office or share it in the group text to kind of pick us up and remind us to stay positive and remain optimistic,” Dimmick said.
They plan to bring that same positive energy to this restaurant.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Sticking to their roots
The Idea Collective prides itself on creating a foundation for their employees to learn, grow and in some cases move on to open their own businesses.
“Opening a third restaurant for the group really starts to round us out in a way that has seen a number of folks in leadership positions now elevate to a director level in support of everything we do,” Dimmick said.
Three Birds will be training a team of about 50 people through Saturday, followed by a week of several preview events with curated guest lists. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, RubiGirls and Dayton Children’s Hospital Women’s Board are the three benefactors of their preview services.
“These organizations all mean something special to us, and align with our mission to enhance the cultural fabric and well-being of our community,” Dimmick said.
They’re the perfect fit to help the team iron out their kinks over the upcoming week.
“This team is amazing,” Dimmick said. “There was a lot of interest from a lot of very professional, very like-hearted hospitalitarians and we got a lot of confidence in their ability to pick this up pretty quick.”
During the hiring process, many candidates applied because they were interested in working for The Idea Collective.
“We’ve established a reputation, I think, in the community, in the industry as a positive workplace, a community that fosters growth and development and this time around we were able to attract and get to work with a lot of seasoned professionals and career-minded folks who love their craft,” Dimmick said.
From young families moving to the area to those that have been anchoring the Patterson Park neighborhood for decades, Three Birds will carry on the tradition of being a neighborhood staple.
“We’ve had the chance to meet a lot of the neighborhood,” Dimmick said. “It’s been awesome. Everyone has a story about what this place meant to them.”
The owners feel honored to take on the responsibility for this building and are looking forward to helping people create new memories in the space.
MORE DETAILS
Three Birds will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations will be available online for 50 percent of the indoor and outdoor seating areas. The other half of the seating will be for walk-ins.
The owners plan to open on Sundays in the future — offering brunch on the weekends.
For more information and updates, visit the restaurant’s Instagram page (@threebirdsdyt).
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