A new restaurant at an old Dayton landmark is quickly blossoming, and with good reason. What was for so long Wympee Burger is now Olive, an urban dive . Owner Kimberly Collett opted to leave the outer building’s appearance as Wympee so the building could keep its nostalgia. The inside, however, was completely gutted and restored to a whole new identity.

Olive - before

Olive - after

Now, the new restaurant is booming as word spreads. The creation and concept of Olive is the vision of Kimberly Collett and her staff.
“Every year I find myself a new project, so I saw this spot and took on a business plan to create Olive. I wanted to start a fun restaurant, but one where you can still go back to work and feel good the rest of the day”, she explained. Olive’s motto is “local over import, labor over convenience, and service over everything else”.

Some of the remarkable components of the new dining room include an Olive-themed outdoor patio, and, quite impressively, an entire set of tables that Collett built herself. But it doesn’t stop there; there’s creativity abound in the crafting of the new restaurant as well as her perspective on service. Coming from a background in theater, she sees food service in a similar light. “Theater is dramatic, but so is the food and beverage business. The guests are the audience, my staff the actors and I’m the stage manager.”

Since its open in early July, Olive has gained rapid success, already serving over 2,000 heads. Olive strives to use local, natural ingredients with a Mediterranean and American style. They also feature Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream’s, an ice cream company based out of Columbus, Ohio, known for delicious, original flavors that you’ve never before experienced. Olive also the only place in Dayton that Jeni’s is sold. For now they serve lunch  and brunch, lunch M-F 11-3 pm and brunch Saturday 10-3 pm. Olive plans to open for dinner hours by early September.

We want to know what you think! Have you been to Olive ?