Kramer’s Party Supply in Dayton has lived a number of lives, first as a gas station opened in 1933 by Elmer Kramer, the start of a family-owned history that includes stints as carryout, dive bar, party supply store and now a sort of combination of all previous incarnations. The outline of the original building can be seen from the road, a main structure augmented with a pair of additions over the years to create the footprint occupied by Kramer’s today. The signage here is impressive, an old piece with the name of the bar and a vintage clock the most compelling of the multiple signs attached to the building and its property.
Some windows have bars, others are boarded up, but the look is very much an outpost, a drinking destination convenient to University of Dayton sporting events in a part of town more residential than commercial. Ownership of Kramer’s was passed from Elmer to sons Bob & Red Kramer to then Fred Kramer who operated the bar for some 55 years before retiring in 2007 and passing away in 2020. Longtime business partner Tom Zimmerman operates the space today, his arrival coinciding with the introduction of food, liquor and a pizza oven.
The vibe inside is a mix of college bar, pizza joint and dive bar rolled into a vintage package today well known and loved for its pizza, a relatively recent addition to Kramer’s Party Supply added during an early 1990s expansion. Also notable is the beer selection, most of it delivered in 40-ounce bottles in combination with a plastic cup or two. The space feels a bit like drinking in a pizza barn, the curved roof housing a selection of vintage Pizza Hut pieces and illuminated beer signs. The original beer coolers are still in use here, carousel-style pieces that date back to the roots of the Dayton dive bar.
