Shroyer Park - Dayton, OH

Until the early 1900s, when Shroyer Park was incorporated as part of Dayton, the farmland-filled area was part of the now defunct Van Buren Township. The area remained sparsely populated until the 1940s, when the city experienced a post-war population boom and many middle-class families moved to the newly-built homes along the outskirts of the city. Since the mid-20th century, families have slowly migrated to the nearby suburbs, and a younger generation of college students, recent college graduates and singles call the area home.

The neighborhood's proximity to downtown Dayton makes it easy for residents to peruse the Dayton Arts Institute, see a show at the Victoria Theater or enjoy the slew of events hosted at Dayton’s RiverScape MetroPark, including the Dayton Celtic Fest and the city’s Fourth of July celebration.

Virtually nonexistent, the restaurant selections in Shroyer Park consist of only a few choices. However, residents don’t have to travel far for more diverse options. Patterson Park and University Park’s main thoroughfare, Brown Street, house a variety of pizzerias, along with fast-food, chain and Mexican restaurants.

CJ Chan, a locally owned Shroyer Park restaurant, serves Japanese and Chinese cuisine from a small, strip-mall location that doesn’t do it justice. The restaurant serves the best crab rangoons in Dayton, while the General Tso’s chicken comes cooked to crispy perfection and topped with sauce that has enough spice to leave you wanting more without being overbearing. Like most Americanized Asian restaurants in the area, CJ Chan has reasonable prices and serves massive amounts of food, so make sure you arrive hungry.

Located on Shroyer Road in Patterson Park, Carmel’s Southwest Grill serves a mixture of Tex-Mex food and classic American cuisine. The kitschy restaurant serves margaritas, called Boberitas, by the pitcher and has a fenced-in patio seating area that gets fairly crowded when the weather is nice. The restaurant offers complimentary tortilla chips and salsa to patrons, and most regulars know to ask for Carmel’s spicy, green salsa or a bowl of Queso dip with the chips. The vast menu includes everything from chicken fingers and burgers to tacos and burritos. A few crowd favorites include the blackened fish tacos with sour cream and guacamole and the enchilada dinner with a side of rice and fiesta corn.

Dining at Hickory Barb-B Que on Brown Street has become a family tradition for many locals. The family-owned restaurant serves a variety of barbecue dishes, including pulled pork, ribs and chicken, but it isn’t the barbecue that the locals rave most about. Many customers agree that the restaurant’s real stars are the porterhouse steak, the cabbage rolls and the house salad.

Shroyer Park features a nightlife scene limited to two neighborhood dive bars: Kramer’s Party Supply on Irving Avenue and Partners on Patterson Road. Thanks to its location, good pizza, cheap drinks and pool table, Kramer’s has an eclectic, ever-changing crowd of customers that ranges from pizza-eating families and regulars to UD students looking to relax. Like Kramer’s, Partner’s sells beer by the bottle and has a pool table, but the dive bar has more of a neighborhood vibe where the regulars become bar fixtures and everyone knows your name. Residents who don’t enjoy the dive bar scene typically head to the sports bars in University Park or the dance clubs in the Oregon District, all located only minutes away.

Technically, Shroyer Park residents could walk or ride a bike to their destinations if they wanted to, as the area isn’t dangerous or prone to congested traffic. However, its sloping roads, lack of designated bike lanes and the need to venture into surrounding neighborhoods for necessities make Shroyer Park a car-dependent neighborhood. Also, access to State Route 35 and Interstate 75 in nearby neighborhoods and ample free parking make driving convenient.

The Greater Dayton RTA has a public bus route that runs through Shroyer Park, transporting neighborhood residents who don’t drive to and from downtown Dayton and its suburbs. You can’t hail a cab in the area, and Uber isn’t an option, but several taxi companies schedule pickups by phone.

In contrast to its name, Shroyer Park lacks parks. However, some of the best parks in the Dayton area sit less than 2 miles south in Oakwood, a small suburb south of Shroyer Park. Oakwood has a welcoming, family- and dog-friendly community with several free public parks.

Parents bring their kids to Orchardly Park, located on the corner of Orchard Drive and Delaine Avenue, because of its padded playground area complete with climbing equipment, slides, sand area and water spray area. The park also houses tennis courts, a basketball court, a handball court and a small baseball diamond, making it the perfect place for families to get some exercise. All of Oakwood’s parks are dog-friendly, but Creagor Field, located at the intersection of Shafor Boulevard and Irving Avenue, is the only park with an off-leash area for dogs.

The Kettering-Oakwood connector portion of Miami Valley Bikeways, the nation’s largest network of paved, off-street trails, runs through the Shroyer Park Neighborhood.

Residents also attend the of the slew of annual events hosted at the RiverScape MetroPark in Dayton, including the city’s annual Hispanic Heritage Festival. RiverScape also features several family-oriented amenities, including ice skating, a splash pad and kayak rentals.

Shroyer Park’s cost of living averages approximately 7 percent higher than the rest of Dayton because its location, quiet streets and well-maintained houses. Expect to pay around $500 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, $1.75 for a one-way bus ticket to town and between $3 and $5 for a beer. Gas prices typically sit around 4 percent lower than the national average.

You won’t find any upscale shops, retail stores, grocery stores or farmers markets with Shroyer Park’s boundaries, but the Dayton Mall, the Greene Town Center and the Mall at Fairfield Commons sit in the suburbs, less than 10 miles from the neighborhood. Residents also frequent several boutiques located in adjacent neighborhoods.

Second Time Around, located on Brown Street in University Park, specializes in second-hand DVDs, CDs and video games. Residents enjoy browsing the store for its wide selection of video games from the 1990s, vinyl records and vast selection of hard-to-find movies. Bell Book & Comic, located on Patterson Road in Patterson Park, sells a variety of video games. However, it’s the store’s selection of paperbacks and graphic novels that really attracts the locals.

Also on Brown Street, Flyer Spirit sells a selection of UD-themed clothing and gifts. From blankets and sweatshirts to photo frames and jewelry, the store carries everything that Flyers fans need to show off their love for the University of Dayton.

For large grocery shopping trips and household necessities, Shroyer Park residents head to the Kroger on Wayne Avenue in the Historic South Park district or Dot’s Market on Patterson Road in Kettering. Both Kroger and Dot’s offer a wide selection of food; however, Dot’s has a better selection of deli meats. For fresh produce and baked goods, residents visit downtown Dayton’s year-round farmers market. The 2nd Street Market on East Second Street opens on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.