“There’s actually no Lily. It’s really a family business. My mother’s name is Lisa and my name is Emily, so it’s a combination of our names,” said Emily Mendenhall.
Lily’s Bistro has been located in Dayton’s Oregon District for almost seven years, owned and operated by Mendenhall.
The bistro, located on E 5th Street, stands out with their eclectic foods and enthusiasm for the local community.
Mendenhall is no stranger to the area. Blind Bob’s bar is also family-owned, named after her father. When the space opened in 2013, the conceptualization for Lily’s Bistro began.
Returning to her roots
“I had my tarot cards read in front of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans and the reader had said ‘you need to make a decision between your current career path and your family and it seems like you’ve put family on the back burner for a long time’,” said Mendenhall.
It had been 12 years since she lived in the same city as her family. She went from college to Chicago to New Orleans. Mendenhall’s travel experience shows through the menu offered at Lily’s, but that’s not the only influence.
“I entertained the idea of southern-style food, but it didn’t feel as authentic being on this side of the Mason-Dixon line,” said Mendenhall. “Then I thought about growing up in the Midwest and the main thing we do have, thankfully, is seasons. We base the whole menu and restaurant concept on a very seasonally-driven restaurant that pays homage to the ingredients as they are at their peak and growing their best.”
In November of 2017, Lily’s Bistro began updating their menu twice daily to spotlight what they are getting fresh from their local farmers. Using naturally and locally sourced products is very important to Lily’s Bistro’s menu.
A menu of inspiration
“I’m inspired by the seasonal availability of meats and vegetables and our relationship with the local farming community,” said Jansen Trotman, executive chef of Lily’s Bistro.
“The daily menu is challenging, never boring and drives creativity,” said Trotman. “It also allows us to spotlight local, regional, sustainable and ethically-sourced ingredients as much as possible.”
Trotman has been on staff at Lily’s Bistro for six years but officially became Executive Chef in December of 2017.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with much of Lily’s kitchen staff at other restaurants during my career and have worked on and off over the past six years at Lily’s Bistro. At the end of December in 2017, I came on as Executive Chef here,” said Trotman.
On top of Lily’s Bistro’s involvement in local sourcing, Mendenhall also enjoys being very involved in the community of the Historic Oregon District in general. The district has the largest amount of independent businesses in the region but the need for presence of competition isn’t there.
“It’s almost exclusively independent businesses here. Instead of competing with each other, we do better at working together as a district,” said Mendenhall. “We are a community where a rising tide raises all folks.”
Working with the community
Lily’s Bistro hosted a fundraiser for SICSA and Gem City Catfé where participants were able to have their cats painted in a mural on the side of the building with a donation to the fund.
“A lot of people missed the deadline because the cats sold so quickly. In two weeks, all 100 spots were gone,” said Mendenhall.
Lily’s Bistro collaborated with Tiffany Clark and Leslea Hipp of The Mural Machine to bring these murals to life.
In the coming weeks, two more cats will be added through an auction. One will be a national fundraiser where the highest bidder will get one of those spots and 100 percent of the profits will go to SICSA.
The other will be raffled off through donations and sharing the post about the cats. This gives the opportunity for two entries to win.
