Childhood friends behind new family restaurant in Springfield

One of the newest eateries in town is based on several old friendships — along with a lot of hard work and good luck.

Restaurant: Ohio Village Restaurant

Location: 1805 W. First St., Springfield

Contact:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/OHMYVILLAGE/

Website: www.ohiovillagerestaurant.com

Telephone: (937) 505-1448

Background/Overview:

Ohio Village Restaurant opened last month in Springfield. Its development is the result of decades of hard work, and two years of luck and careful planning for three childhood friends from Tlapanala in Puebla, Mexico.

Benjamin Munoz and Ramiro Rendon hadn’t seen each other since leaving their hometown. In 2016, they met by chance in New York City. Each man had become an experienced chef in the culinary industry. During their happy reunion, they spent hours discussing their goals of restaurant ownership. However, they realized they’d need a third partner to progress.

RELATED: New restaurant coming to former ‘Bay Breeze’ location in Springfield

Gregorio (“Greg”) Vilchis had left that same hometown in Mexico and moved to Atlanta. He too had become a qualified chef. In 2017, Ramiro and Benjamin traveled to Atlanta and found Greg, who also had hopes of owning an eatery. The three agreed to a partnership, and then began searching for a restaurant location.

Ramiro had a friend in Springfield who knew about this empty dining space on West First Street. The three chefs knew it was the perfect place for their first restaurant.

The owners have carefully planned for a successful family-style restaurant. They expect to purchase the food from local farms as much as possible. Executive Chef Benjamin’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus center on “Great food with your health in mind, at an affordable price” at Ohio Village Restaurant.

The Menu:

Beverages: Freshly-brewed Coffee-$2 w/free refills; Pepsi products-$2.19 w/free refills; Homemade Lemonade-$2.50; Freshly-squeezed Orange Juice-$3.

Breakfast: Apple Pancakes w/fresh fruit, Homemade Granola w/yogurt & fresh fruit, or Village Waffles w/fresh fruit-$5; California Scramble w/house salad & potato, Sandwich w/house salad, & potato, or Egg Scramble Plate-$7; Breakfast Burrito w/house salad & potato, Breakfast Taco w/house salad & potato, Southwestern Omelet w/house salad & potato, or Chilaquiles Verdes-$8; Breakfast Chicken, or Steak Quesadilla w/house salad-$8/$9; Breakfast Platter w/three eggs, house salad, meat, potato, & toast-$9; Breakfast Bowl w/two eggs & toast-$10; Steak (eight oz. hanger steak) & Eggs (two) w/house salad, potato, and toast-$13.

Brunch: Hash Brown & Cheddar Cheese Casserole w/house salad & potato-$7; Southwestern Brunch Bowl w/two eggs & cilantro lime rice-$8.

Appetizers: Avocado Toast w/salad, or Smoky Mac & Cheese-$5; Fried Calamari w/marinara sauce-$7.

“Soup-of-the-Day”: $3.

Salads: Mexican Cobb Salad, or Southwestern Chicken Caesar Salad-$12; Grilled Salmon Salad, or Steak Fajita Salad-$13.

Sandwiches: Hamburger w/house salad, or fries-$7; Grilled Chicken Reuben w/ house salad, or fries, or Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich w/house salad, or fries-$8.

Sides: Chipotle Lime Corn Salad, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Lemon Grilled Asparagus, Roasted Cauliflower w/tahini, Sauteed Broccoli w/garlic, Sauteed Green Beans, Sauteed Green Peas w/bacon, or Zucchini w/cherry tomatoes & mozzarella-$3.

Pasta: Alfredo Linguini Pasta-$12; Beef Bolognese, or Chicken Arrabiata-$16; Shrimp Pasta-$17.

Platters: Pan Seared Tilapia w/rice & lime corn salad, or Southwestern Lunch Bowl over cilantro lime rice-$10; Village Burrito w/house salad, or fries-$12; Grilled Salmon w/grilled asparagus over rice-$13; Pan Roasted Amish Half Chicken over garlic mashed potatoes & chorizo hash-$14.

Steak Plates: Grilled Hanger Steak (eight oz.) w/house salad & potato, or green beans-$14; Ribeye Steak (eight oz.) w/house salad & potato, or green beans, or Steak Au Poivre (eight oz.) w/house salad & potato, or green beans-$15.

Hours:

Sunday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.;

Friday & Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

More Information:

Ohio Village Restaurant is found in the previous Bay Breeze Restaurant building across the street from Applebee’s.

This restored building seats more than 400 visitors on one level. It also includes two secluded conference rooms that each seat 35 guests. Please call ahead for parties of 20 or more.

There are 10 television sets positioned throughout the area for your additional dining enjoyment. The owners’ hopes of a liquor license are pending for their Ohio Village Restaurant.

Look for local restaurant profiles by Glenn and Kim Creyts every other week in “Life.” For inquiries regarding this column, and “Restaurant Profile” ideas and suggestions for future columns, please contact Glenn and Kim via e-mail: glenncreyts@att.net.

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