Elsa Bonner, a woman from the coal mining fields of Eastern Kentucky, opened the original Elsa’s on Linden Ave. in the mid 1940’s. For nearly thirty years, Bonner would sit at the same table everyday with a single fresh rose in a vase in the center. This quaint Mexican restaurant was open until June 1, 1976, when Elsa retired. Three years later, it was purchased by four young lawyers.
When current owner, Bill Hemmert, and three of his colleagues bought Elsa’s in 1979 from Elsa Bonner’s daughter, the menus were still on the table just as if someone closed the doors one day and never returned. As they couldn’t find anyone who knew the recipes, they had to start from scratch. Luckily, their first chef was a Mexican-American man recently retired from Wright Patterson Air Force Base. They held a dinner party to test his skills and he passed! The menu has hardly changed for the past 30 years. Even the recipe Hemmert created 30 years ago for the Bad Juan remains the same.
Today, the home of the legendary Bad Juan has four locations in the South/East Dayton area: Linden Ave., Far Hills (South), Wilmington Ave., and E. Stroop Rd. It has evolved into a business that Hemmert proudly shares with his family.
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