Eat at This Historic Schoolhouse Restaurant

The Schoolhouse Restaurant & General Store gets high marks for historic appeal. Located in the Hamilton County community of Camp Dennison, the structure the eatery calls home saw its first students in 1870 and its last ones more than eight decades later. Since 1962, the building has welcomed diners looking for a flavor of a bygone era.  

“We just want everyone to realize what it used to be like,” says co-owner Beth Miller, adding that her parents, who opened the restaurant, made sure to keep the details like the schoolhouse’s blackboard, windows and wooden floors intact. Miller and her three siblings took over the business in 2000. 

That sort of togetherness applies to the menu too, which is written on the dining room’s blackboard. Diners can choose from a list of entrees, which includes favorites like fried chicken and roast beef, while sides are served family style and include tossed salad, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, country green beans, a daily vegetable and cornbread. 

The restaurant’s wooden tables are inspired by dinners in Miller’s own kitchen growing up: Each has a lazy Susan in the center so patrons can easily share sides.  

“In our home, we always had a lazy Susan and a big round table,” Miller says. “[My mom] tried to re-create our family dinner.” 8031 Glendale Milford Rd., Camp Dennison 45111, 513/831-5753, theschoolhousecincinnati.com

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