Culp’s Café

This one-of-a-kind eatery honors the soda fountains and lunch counters that once dotted Dayton in the early 1900s. Culp’s Café serves hearty breakfast platters, sandwiches, soups, salads, chicken and waffles, and classic soda fountain treats. For a truly unique experience, guests can dine inside a restored 1903 Barney & Smith interurban railcar — an ideal setting for a breakfast meeting or lunch date.

The Culp’s story began in 1902, when Charlotte Gilbert Culp, a young West Dayton widow, baked goods for her six children to sell door to door. The family soon opened a stand at the South Main Street Market, and Charlotte’s eldest son, Howard, later expanded into the Arcade, selling poultry, eggs, cheese, and dill pickles at three lunch counters. By the 1930s, the Culps operated a full cafeteria in the Arcade and, by the 1940s, served as many as 5,000 customers a day.

Although Culp’s was sold in 1960, its spirit lives on at Carillon Historical Park thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Dorothy Culp, Howard’s daughter-in-law, whose legacy gift made the café possible. Today, Culp’s Café is proudly operated by Dayton entrepreneurs Jose and Carol Calzada.