DAYTON, Ky. -- One Northern Kentucky community is hoping to lure in business with a restaurant renaissance.
Dayton, a river city nestled next to Bellevue, is a small town with big ambitions when it comes to food.
Just ask Buck Buchanan, the owner of Buck's BBQ. His eatery opened at 640 Sixth Ave. in January.
“Dayton is an up and coming thriving little town with a lot of development and investment coming in,” Buchanan said.
His barbeque joint is known for its smoked meats and flaming peach cobbler.
Buck's BBQ is the latest piece of Dayton’s restaurant boom. The city’s Main Street Board launched an awareness campaign on Monday called 'I 8 in Dayton' after Route 8, which runs through the city.
Beth Nyman, the chair of Dayton’s Main Street Board, said attracting new development and commerce to her small city -- the 2010 census recorded a little over 5,300 residents -- can be difficult.
“I think that we struggle with problems that Main Streets all over the country are struggling with, big box stores, and businesses struggling, mom and pop places,” Nyman said.
With eight restaurants already open on Sixth Street, city leaders hope more is on the way.
“It could be shops, it could be musical venues,” Nyman said. "This part of northern Kentucky is six minutes from downtown Cincinnati."
Trotta's, an upscale steak and seafood resataurant; Purple Poulet, a Southern bourbon bistro; and Divine Waffles & Weck, a breakfast and lunch spot, are among the other restaurants that grace Dayton's famed Sixth Avenue.
