| Hello, local food fans! It’s that time of year again. Our holiday cookie contest is back, and we’re asking those throughout the region to submit their best, easy-to-follow cookie recipes. Last year, the holiday cookie contest returned with a twist after a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new twist was having our staff make the cookies instead of having contestants bring a dozen cookies to our office. Credit: Jim Noelker We had more than 30 local bakers submit their favorite holiday recipes. Dana Tatar of Oakwood came in first place with her recipe for Festive Stuffed Cookie Butter Cookies, followed by Rebekah Lermond of Union with her recipe for Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies and Jelena Staub of Oakwood with her recipe for Brown Butter Espresso Chip Cookies. Here’s how you can enter: Email the recipe with exact measurements and instructions to me at natalie.jones@coxinc.com. Please include your first and last name, the city you reside in and a brief description about how you came across the cookie recipe and what makes it special to you. Also include your phone number and email in case our team has additional questions. If you are a winner, that’s how you will be notified. What will happen next: Those interested in submitting a recipe have until Nov. 15. Our team will choose 10 of the cookie recipes to bake. The judges will then try the cookies on Nov. 22 and a first-, second- and third-place winner will be selected. The winners will be contacted before Nov. 27, and a story will be published in the newspaper Dec. 8, recognizing our favorite cookie recipes. Credit: Jim Noelker *** Ron Holp, founder of Ron’s Pizza, dies at 92 Ron Holp, a longtime Miamisburg business owner, died Sunday evening. He was 92 years old. Holp “got involved in the restaurant business at a drive-in on Route 4, later in operating a Cassano’s Pizza franchise store on Miamisburg’s Main Street,” according to the Ron’s Pizza website. He opened Ron’s Pizza on North 12th Street in 1964, moving out in 1999 to several different locations before coming to 1 South Main St. in 2002. “When we started, we only had two rooms,” Holp told this news outlet in 2023. “We had a kitchen-type area where we make the pizzas and (people) pick them up, then we had a dining room that seated about 34 people.” The city of Miamisburg recognized Holp in August at the Rock ‘N’ Green Tomato Festival, an event he and Hamburger Wagon owner Jack Sperry helped create in 2012 to highlight the city and its businesses. At the event, Miamisburg Mayor Michelle Collins called Holp one of Miamisburg’s most influential figures and said the city recognized his “outstanding accomplishments and valuable contributions” to the community. Reached by this news outlet Monday, Collins said trying to verbalize what Holp means to the community is impossible. “What a dedicated, hard-working, story-telling, true friend and family man he was,” Collins said. “Ron made it his mission to make Miamisburg everything it could be through being a part of the original Miamisburg Merchants Association. He had the vision to see what downtown would become and invested in it.” Lucky Star Brewery in downtown Miamisburg for sale After 10 years in business, the owners of Lucky Star Brewery in downtown Miamisburg are ready to retire and sell their business. “We’re at that point in our life where we’ve done this for 10 years,” said Glenn Perrine, who owns the brewery with his wife, Ana. “My dad passed away a couple years ago. Her dad passed away just last year and we started thinking, how many more years do we have left to get out and do what we want to do?” The Perrines are looking for someone who loves craft beer and the City of Miamisburg to take over the brewery. “I know we love the name and we love our stuff (and) how we do it, but whoever buys it I hope they have a vision of what they want to do. I’m fine with them changing it to what their dream is,” Glenn said. The brewery is listed for $485,000, which includes the building, business, equipment, recipes and all licenses. Why is there a Steamboat Willie mural on the new Gionino’s Pizzeria in Dayton? Credit: Natalie Jones Those who have driven on Wilmington Avenue in Dayton — just past Stan’s Donuts near Rocky’s Ace Hardware — may have noticed a new Gionino’s Pizzeria location. The pizza shop is expected to open in early- to mid-December, said franchise owner Tony Clark. Clark has heard that people are wondering why there is a Mickey Mouse mural from the 1928 animated short Steamboat Willie on the side of the building. His answer: It’s for his 9-year-old bonus son, Andrew Minnish, who loves anything and everything Mickey Mouse/ Clark, who also owns DK Effect and Thai 9, said when they did the mural on the side of the arcade bar at 1600 E. Third St. in Dayton, Minnish was upset that Mickey was not included. He had promised him that the next Gionino’s Pizzeria location would have a Mickey Mouse mural on the building and Minnish held him to it. The duo now drives to the pizza shop on a regular basis for Minnish to take photos in front of it. Clark said his bonus son hopes other people will want to take photos as well. Quick Bites 🍗 Wingstop expands in Dayton region: A new restaurant at 2811 Wilmington Pike in Kettering opened at 11 a.m. today. 🍕 Old Scratch Pizza is open on Mondays: The restaurant is celebrating every Monday throughout November with half-off Margherita Pizzas and $1 off OSPils Beer. READ MORE 🌮 Chipotle opens new location with drive-thru pickup lane: The restaurant is located at 5850 N. Springboro Pike near Meijer in Miami Twp. 🎄 Countdown to Christmas: Tree lighting ceremonies to illuminate holiday spirit across Dayton region. Jimmy John’s launches the ‘Picklewich’ Credit: Natalie Jones Attention all pickle lovers! Jimmy John’s has launched the “Picklewich,” featuring a kosher dill pickle that replaces the bread of its Turkey or Vito sandwiches. I stopped by my local Jimmy John’s to give it a try and absolutely loved it. As someone who is a pickle connoisseur, this sandwich was right up my alley. I will warn you, it’s a bit messy! I had the Turkey Picklewich with turkey, provolone, lettuce and tomato. I could have had the Vito Picklewich, which included salami, capocolli, provolone, onion, lettuce, tomato, oil and vinegar and oregano-basil, but I decided to start with something basic. When you bite into the sandwich, it makes such a loud, crunchy noise. I saw an influencer on TikTok add Pickle Jimmy Chips, a fan-favorite that Jimmy John’s just brought back, to the sandwich and that is the key. They add an extra layer of salty, sour, dilly goodness. The influencer also drizzled Jalapeno Ranch onto the sandwich and I highly recommend. The Picklewich is available now through Nov. 14 at participating locations nationwide. WATCH: Reporter tries ‘Picklewich’ from Jimmy John’s Did you know Dayton has movie parties at The Brightside? Credit: Tom Gilliam John Boucuvalas started the Dayton Dinner Theater in 2019 because he always thought movies could be more interactive. The Dayton Dinner Theater brings likeminded people together to watch and celebrate their favorite classic movies. The 2024-2025 season kicked off Oct. 27 at The Brightside in downtown Dayton with a showing of “Hocus Pocus” and will continue through the end of March featuring several other movies with a cult-like following. Each movie night features themed cocktails and food, live music, trivia and interactive games. Upcoming movies include: Nov. 13 “Mean Girls”Nov. 24 “Clue The Movie”Dec. 1 “Elf”Dec. 8 “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”Dec. 18 “A Christmas Story”Dec. 22 “It’s a Wonderful Life” Tickets range from $28 to $36 and must be purchased at least three to four days in advance. TAKE A LOOK: Here are 10 things to do in the Dayton region this weekend Tell Us Thank you so much for reading my weekly newsletter! If you see a new restaurant opening or are wondering when an establishment is expected to open, feel free to email me here, and I’ll check it out. Remember to follow Dayton Daily News on Facebook or search our Food & Dining section for the latest stories. I’ll have continuous updates on my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok pages. | 