Culp’s Café offers delicious breakfast platters, sandwiches, soups, salads, chicken & waffles, and classic soda fountain favorites. Open 10a-2p Tuesday thru Saturday.
Culp's Café returns with a Grand Re-opening Tuesday, April 4. Carillon Historical Park's early 20th-century restaurant pays homage to the beginnings of Culp’s lunch counter and cafeteria—a renowned Dayton business that specialized in home-cooked food. Culp’s was Dayton’s first restaurant to offer air conditioning, and it featured the first electric Hammond organ music in the area.
The Culp’s story dates to 1902 when Charlotte Gilbert Culp, a young West Dayton widow, began preparing baked goods for her six children to sell door-to-door. Soon, the Culp family opened a stand at the South Main Street Market. Charlotte’s eldest son, Howard, expanded the business into the Arcade, selling poultry, eggs, cheese, and dill pickles at three lunch counters.
In the 1930s, the Culps opened a full cafeteria. By the 1940s, they were serving as many as 5,000 customers a day. While Culp’s was sold in 1960, the spirit of this family-owned restaurant lives on at Carillon Historical Park.
Culp's Café is located at 1000 Carillon Blvd Dayton, OH 45409. Opening Hours are Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00 am–2:00 pm.
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