2-01-2023 10:45pm

Broadway Barrel House Home To Warren County's Best Burger

Beth Callahan Editor

LEBANON, OH -- Over the last few years Lebanon’s Downton area of dining has been slowly creeping north up Broadway (also known to some as State Rt. 48) towards the Fairgrounds. And, one of the main attractions that has helped with this growth is the Broadway Barrel House.

Located somewhat catty corner of the Berry Intermediate School, the Broadway Barrel House was originally built as a Dodge Dealership back in the 1950s, explained Dan Lech, co-owner of the Barrel House. Lech and his business partner Bryan Taulbee purchased the building that is now home of the Broadway Barrel back in 2015.

Lech explained how the Barrel came to be at 402 N. Broadway. After the dealership closed, the building was used as a GE Sales and Service retail store. After that, it became a LaRosas... and then, a Miao’s Pizza until 2014.

“We bought the building in 2015,” Lech said adding that when they bought the building it was either totally gut it or bulldozer it down… They chose to fully gut the existing building and revamp it into the Broadway Barrel House.

To come up with the name the two... “sat down at the table and tossed names back and forth till something stuck,” Lech said.

Lech said that he and Taulbee had worked together before in the restaurant business.

“I started in the restaurant business in the kitchen and worked my way up to a regional manager of a ‘local brand.’ After running those, I decided it was time to do my own,” Lech said, adding that the idea of starting their own restaurant was something that Taulbee and he had tossed around.

In creating the Barrel’s menu, the two men... “took every menu item we liked... from any where, and put our own spin on it,” Lech explained.

Their “spin” has worked... for on April 27 of this year, the Broadway Barrel will be celebrating its 6th anniversary.

For the last three years the Barrel has won Best Burgers in Warren County and has alsow won Best Lunch Spot several times Lech noted.

Along with their large menu seclection of burgers, wings, and flatbreads the Barrel has 24 Beers on tap. "Forty to 50 percent of the beers are local, and we rotate them out every two months or so," Lech explained.

Has the Barrel brought the growth down Broadway or did the growth bring the Barrel?

According to Lech, neither he nor Taulbee had any idea this type of growth would be coming their direction.

“When we did our market research, it showed us that there was a need for a dine in restaurant in Lebanon. We did the math and the searches... and we found that the numbers showed this area was really low for dine in restaurants,” Lech explained.

So when the two found the building … “It was a free standing building, not in a strip... with a basement for storage... it was a no brainer,” Lech added.

Along with the indoor part of the restaurant that seats about 150, a new outdoor covered deck allows for approximately another 100 plus seats when the weather breaks.

“This year we had it opened all the way until October,” Lech said adding that once the weather allows it will re-open sometime in the spring.

Also, if planning for the famous Lebanon Horse Drawn Carriage Parade that happens the first Saturday of December each year, the Barrel is at the spot where the parade starts and stops. Knowing that and the fact that the Cit of Lebanon has expanded its DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) boundaries to the Warren County Fairgrounds, people can now come into the Barrel and purchase a glass of wine, a beer or an other adult beverages to take outside with them to watch the parade.

Being a family restaurant, the Barrel is closed on the six major holidays: Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

When you stop in, don’t forget to check out the huge American Flag on the wall. “People are always getting a picture of that when they first come here,” Lech smiled pointing to the flag he and Taulbee made together.

To learn more about the Broadway Barrel House and its menu visit either its Webpage or its Facebook page.