Hotel Ardent is the latest to open in downtown Dayton.

In today’s Morning Briefing, we tell you about the hotel and the soon-to-open upscale Italian steakhouse that comes with it. We also flash back to the 1950s to remember Dayton’s “Rising Generation” TV talent show.

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The newsletter should take about 4 minutes, 10 seconds to read.

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Upscale Italian steakhouse Bistecca to open in new Hotel Ardent downtown

Hotel Ardent officially opened its doors this week and a new Italian steakhouse restaurant on the first floor, called Bistecca, will soon follow.

• New hotel, old building: The hotel is located at 137 N. Main St. in the historic Barclay Building at the southwest corner of North Main and West First street. It was constructed in 1927 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

• On the menu: The menu is inspired by the flavors of Tuscany, and blends Italian culinary traditions with a modern flair. The restaurant’s namesake will be a t-bone steak called “the Bistecca alla Fiorentina.”

Guests can expect handmade pastas, wood-fired grill selections and signature cocktails. The restaurant will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

• Other amenities: The hotel features 118 rooms and suites with a fitness center, yoga room and event spaces.

• Worth the wait: The hotel originally was expected to open late in 2022, but delays related to COVID and supply chain and historic renovation issues pushed the project back.

Remembering Dayton’s ‘Rising Generation,’ the Channel 7 talent show that helped launch Martin Sheen’s career

“Rising Generation” was a local talent show that first aired on Channel 7 in Dayton during the 1950s.

• The show: It featured various performances by young talents from the area, providing a platform for them to showcase their skills. Winners were selected every 13 weeks and rewarded with trips to New York, auditions and a hi-fi record player.

• Marion Gange: She took over producing, directing and hosting the Dayton show in its second year. Previously, she had played with Ina Ray Hutton’s Orchestra and was also honored as one of the “Gibson Girls,” sponsored by the Gibson Guitar Company.

• Martin Sheen: The actor once told the Dayton Daily News his break in Dayton came when he appeared on the show in 1958.

“I tried to tell people, ‘Look, I don’t sing, I don’t dance. What am I gonna do? So I decided to reach some passages from the Bible,” he told a reporter in 1964. From there he won an audition for CBS in New York.

What to know today

• One big takeaway: University of Dayton researchers opened a new local lab to employ what the university says has proven to be a “one-of-a-kind” laser system.

• Tip of the day: Here are five off-the-beaten-path slider recipes, including vegetarian options, to try this year.

• Person to know today: Sierra Leone. Dayton’s first poet laureate has been at the forefront of urban creative arts and Dayton’s spoken word/poetry scene for more than 20 years.

• Big move of the day: GoCyber Collective, a cyber-based nonprofit in Moraine, which helps train businesses, governments and individuals against cyberattacks, is showing signs of rapid growth.

• Dayton Food & Dining: Tasty Bacon’s new food truck has launched in the Fairborn area featuring smash burgers, hand-dipped corn dogs, loaded potatoes and breakfast items.

• Stat of the day: With only 26 citations, Five Rivers MetroParks handed out the fourth most tickets of any law enforcement agency in Ohio under the state’s new driving-while-texting law the first year the law was in effect.