This artist's rendering by Schrier Studios shows Beef O' Brady's Family Sports Pub, which expects to open by August. The restaurant will be built just north of the Stein Mart on ohio 48, south of West Spring Valley Road in Centerville Dayton Daily News - May 20th, 2004

CENTERVILLE - Beef 'O' Brady's Family Sports Pub, a family - oriented restaurant with origins in Tampa, Fla., plans to open by August in Centerville.

Bill DeFries of Springboro, former general manager for ADT Security Services in western Ohio, said he and his wife, Melissa, plan to open the 4,500-square-foot restaurant, which will employ about 40 people, 35 part-time. It will be located at the northern-most corner of Centerville Plaza off Ohio 48 just south of West Spring Valley Road and north of the Stein Mart department store. Seating is for 150. "We hope to open three to five more in the south Dayton area," he said. "We'd also like to go into Springboro, Bellbrook, Kettering, Beavercreek and Fairborn."

The company, whose restaurants are all independent franchises, has one restaurant in Strongsville, Ohio, and others planned for Cleveland, Eastlake and Pickerington, according to their website. DeFries said two each are slated for Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus areas. The website indicates the company has 138 existing restaurants, mostly in Florida, with at least 95 additional restaurants in the works, reaching as far north as Chicago and Michigan. "They just started to spread out," DeFries said, "but hope to have 500 restaurants by 2006."

While the word pub is in their name, "We're really a family restaurant." he said, "We're 100 percent non-smoking, inside and in the outdoor seating area. "The restaurant plans to recognize kids in sports, and will have a video game room and 20 to 25 TVs and some big screen TVs. DeFries said there will be no music as the idea is to be sports-oriented. "If anyone cusses, he will be told not to, and if they do it again, we will ask them to leave." he said.

A separate bar area will only serve beer and wine, not hard liquor. The menu will be American cuisine with grilled items, salads and a $7.29 grouper sandwich that can be ordered deep fried, grilled or blackened. The 'O' Brady Burger, a one-third pound choice sirloin burger, will sell for $4.99. Ten buffalo-style chicken wings with the sauce made from the founder's original recipe, will sell for $5.49 and come in mild, medium, hot extra hot and nuclear. DeFries said a thick, tasty bread known as Cuban bread in Florida will be used to make a Cuban sandwich with ham pepperoni and salami.

The restaurant's concept was developed by Floridian Jim Mellody and his wife, Jeanette, using his wife's maiden name, Brady, and adding some Irish touches in the décor for good luck. DeFries said Mellody originally opened his restaurant as a steak house. "His steaks were not selling, but his wings were popular," he said. "People started buying the wings in droves."

After the late Mellody expanded his chain of restaurants to about 40, he sold out to former Chili's Grill & Bar franchisees Chuck Winship and Gene Knippers in 1998. Their company, Family Sports Concepts, Inc., took the number of restaurants from 40 to more than 130. "I'm one of 100 more signing up to open a new restaurant," DeFries said.

DeFries got approval from the Centerville Planning commission to put a green awning over the outside seating area. The restaurant will have a side entrance for take-out service. Centerville City Planner Steve Feverston said the Applebee's restaurant, originally planned to go on an out lot side in front of the Stein mart store, will not be built because the building pad was too small to allow for the building and parking. A Skyline Chili restaurant is now seeking approval for that location.

Contact Katherine Ullmer at 937-225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com

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