515 Wayne Ave., Dayton, Ohio
First Impressions
I don’t need to worry about Aurora.
My daughter is gluten intolerant. Every menu she opens she assumes it contains nothing for her. In many ways, every food item that isn’t prepackaged with a gluten-free label represents something with the unstoppable power and ability to hurt her.
Every slumber party…
Every birthday gathering…
Every school goodie…
Every holiday…
Every time food enters the equation, my daughter knows there is a high probability of slim choices, if any at all, if I’m not part of the food prep.
I cannot tell you how many times she waited hours to eat because there was nothing gluten-free beyond baby carrots at a gathering (and since she has braces, she can’t even eat those)… or how many times she sat and watched her classmates devour a treat while she tried not to lose heart over the fact that she, too, couldn’t indulge. There are simply too many times and situations to count. It shatters my heart to watch her constantly feel unthought of and unconsidered when it comes to food. If I could take her food allergy away and have it myself, I would do so before my next breath.
It’s not necessarily other people’s job to cater a menu to those with food allergies but wow… when someone does design a menu that makes everyone feel included, it not only feels like Christmas morning to those who are in a constant state of struggle— it feels like Christmas morning to all those forced to watch that struggle.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, my friend has children with food allergies and when all of us headed to the Schuster Center in Dayton for a Broadway show, she insisted that she knew right where to go for our food-sensitive crew— and she did.
Enter Wheat Penny Oven & Bar, the newest member of the Positively Delicious food blog journey.
A Step Inside
Large Valoroso Whole Peeled Pear Tomatoes cans are part of every vantage point, hoisting pizzas across the restaurant off their respective tables and into their consumer’s view. Exposed ceilings offer a trendy vibe while the décor and “Stress does not exist in the presence of pizza” quote invites patrons to feel at home.
Warm and inviting.
Wholesome and forward-thinking.
Rooted in tradition but ready to take flight.
There’s something different about Wheat Penny Oven & Bar. It’s not pretentious, and it’s not a dive. It’s not too fancy, but it’s fancy if you want it to be. It’s a date destination, but it’s a family gathering place too, as well as a party-for-one location.
Upon closer inspection, I learn that none of the pizzas are wood-fired. Instead, as Wheat Penny Oven & Bar’s website says, “[They] cook [the pizzas] in a big, hot Baker’s Pride deck oven. The dough is allowed to develop a minimum of 48 hours before being shaped. Once baked, the crust sports a large char-pocked cornice that has big, chewy air pockets and is firmly crisp on the bottom. Italian-style pizza tends to be more sparsely topped; [theirs] is a little more cheesy, saucy and juicy, but only a little more. [Their] pies are made with a strong ethic regarding balance of ingredients–no double cheese or meat lover’s overload. [Their] toppings don’t generally go on raw; [they] cook and season each ingredient for maximum texture and flavor. Each pizza’s cornice gets a swipe of extra virgin olive oil half-way through baking. Every pizza is garnished before being cut, with coarse salt or fried garlic or snipped herbs or ground cheese or a scraping of lemon zest, whatever is appropriate to the pie.”
Liz and Wiley, the two who conceptualized and launched Wheat Penny Oven & Bar, take inspiration from California. Liz even went to Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza in San Francisco and worked as a bread baker at Joyce Goldstein’s Square One restaurant. But there are also roots in the South and massive inspiration from Chicago that pulses through the owners’ veins and their restaurant recipes.
*Note: There are three owners now.
The Menu
I can honestly say that I’ve never walked into a restaurant that had so many options for so many food allergy-stricken people.
Do you need gluten-free?
How about dairy-free?
Perhaps you’re vegan or vegetarian?
Or maybe you’re none of the above but would just like food that tastes like a Southern Mamaw and an Italian Nonna invited you over for dinner and competed with their food for your attention and praise.
Wheat Penny Oven & Bar’s most sought-after appetizer is hands-down the EGGPLANT FRIES, and their TAYLOR STREET pizza is well-sought after too. But I must give all my praise and ‘Amens’ to the WARM PEAR AND GINGER CRISP WITH ICE CREAM dessert that greeted my tastebuds at the end of my meal… and YES, they use gluten-free oats, so even this dessert from the culinary gods is gluten-free! (Note: Now, this dessert is off the menu and is replaced with the WARM STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP WITH ICE CREAM).
Here you can find HOMEMADE SOUPS and SALADS and HERB BUTTERED SPAGHETTI SQUASH and a CHICAGO STYLE CHICKEN PARMESAN SANDWICH. They have THE PHILADELPHIA and GRILLED SHRIMP, BROCCOLINI AND PEPPERS WITH POLENTA. They have CRISPY BRICK CHICKEN, PRIME AGED BONE-IN RIBEYE, and PIZZA galore. COCKTAILS and MOCKTAILS with fancy names and DRAFT BEERS and WINE. They serve SPECIALS and HOUSE-MADE BUCKEYE ICE CREAM and SARAH’S LEMON OLIVE OIL CAKE too. There is something for everyone— including gluten-free appetizers, pasta, and pizza, among other things.
Final Thoughts
Wheat Penny Oven & Bar is family owned and operated, and you can feel that. They use family recipes, including Liz’s mother’s marinara recipe, and even named the restaurant Wheat Penny because Wiley’s mother collected coins and always kept a wheat penny in her pocket for good luck.
There is a richness to Wheat Penny Oven & Bar’s food that comes when love is put in and integrity of the ingredients is upheld. It doesn’t surprise me that America’s Best Restaurants featured them on November 17, 2021. (Click here to watch that feature.)
When someone takes the time to consider others, whether we’re talking about food allergies or something else altogether, they show a respect and care that makes people want to return to them.
This is not a place you go to simply because you have a food allergy or food restraint. This is a place you go to because you want phenomenal food!
With a location close to the Oregon District, Schuster Center and simply worth the drive, I hope you consider throwing your time and tastebuds in Wheat Penny Oven & Bar’s direction because they know exactly what to do with them.
To visit them on Facebook, click here. Note that their prices may vary from the prices noted on the included pictures due to the current, and ever-increasing, food prices.
Hours as of June 2022 (as always, double-check their hours before you go and call-in advance to check on seating availability— this is a RESERVATION place, as they are highly loved and devoured):
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday- Thursday: 11:00AM- 9:00PM, with last seating at 8:30PM
Friday- Saturday: 11:00AM- 10:00PM, with last seating at 9:30PM
SUNDAY: CLOSED
The following photos are courtesy of Wheat Penny’s Facebook page:
