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“If all of these plans for downtown Dayton happen, it will up everyone’s game,” Kim said. “If we do something special here with Spaghetti Warehouse, we’ll play our part in this entire elevated experience that people will have when they come downtown.”

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Kelly Byrd, the restaurant’s general manager, has worked at the restaurant for the last 10 of its 39 years, when the restaurant endured some of downtown Dayton’s lean times. The improvements underway around downtown, Byrd said, “will make staying here all worthwhile.”

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Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Dayton is getting a face-lift under new ownership.

Known for its trolley-car seating and towering lasagna, the Dayton Spaghetti Warehouse has operated at 36 W. Fifth St. since 1980, outlasting dozens of its peers as downtown’s fortunes ebbed and flowed. Plans are taking shape for a 40th anniversary celebration next year, Kim said.

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But for now, renovations are underway or planned for 2019 that include modernizing the kitchen, renovating the restaurant’s bathrooms, giving banquet rooms a significant makeover, and re-designing and renovating the bar area. The investment will reach six figures just this year alone, Kim said.

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Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Dayton is getting a face-lift under new ownership.

The kitchen improvements, nearly completed, will enhance the quality of the restaurant’s food as well as the working conditions for employees, Kim said.

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The kitchen makeover also has added flexibility: new menu items and specials are in the works, Kim said.