The new owners of the former Coolridge Golf Course in Mansfield, Ohio will give the property’s restaurant, which always had a loyal following, equal billing when reopening the club as Dawson Ridge Par & Pub. Coolridge GC was bought at auction by Delbert and Doris Dawson, who operate a variety of successful local businesses.
Dawson Ridge Par & Pub, formerly known as Coolridge Golf Course, had a ribbon-cutting under new ownership on June 15, the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal reported.
Delbert and Doris Dawson bought the property at auction in April, the News Journal reported. The acquisition included a 9-hole, 3,100-yard, par-36 golf course that was one of the first in Richland County, Ohio. Coolridge GC opened in 1926, operating on 86 acres, the News Journal reported.
The course itself is expected to reopen in two to three weeks, after a little more work, according to the owners. “The golf course itself is good enough to play, but the greens need some work,” Delbert Dawson told the News Journal. Because it “had been let go for some period of time,” Dawson noted, some work was needed to bring it back into condition.
The clubhouse restaurant had its soft opening on June 17, but Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker and former Richland County Common Pleas Court Judge James Henson were among the local officials on hand for the more official ceremonies two days earlier, the News Journal reported.
The business had remained under private ownership throughout the decades. the News Journal reported. but had changed hands several times.
The property, zoned recreational/residential, was advertised for auction as potentially intriguing for warehouse or commercial development, the News Journal reported, because of its road frontage on the U.S. 30 eastbound cloverleaf off Fifth Avenue.
But the Dawsons purchased the property and plan to retain it as a golf operation, with now equal billing for its restaurant/bar.
Delbert Dawson is owner of D & D Emulsions and Dust Lock Inc., the News Journal reported. His wife Doris has owned Premier Hair Co. for about 10 years and formerly ran Famous Hair salons in Mansfield,
They will operate their new business with help from their son, Chas, the News Journal reported.
“We used to play golf here, years ago,” Delbert Dawson said.
The Dawsons said they hadn’t necessarily planned to reopen the restaurant at first. “We were getting ready to retire,” Doris Dawson said.
But employees wanted to see it back in operation, Delbert Dawson said.
Mayor Theaker told the News Journal that it was nice that the former Coolridge Golf Course, after several changes of ownership, is coming back into operation. “The golf course was going to close. Everything was closed for a little while,” he said.
“The individual that had the golf course just let it go down a little and didn’t reinvest in it as it should have been,” Theaker said. “It’s very nice that an individual stepped in to take it over. He [Delbert] has promised that he will make this a pristine golf course again.”
Theaker said people living in the neighborhood near Liberty Park and the course value the golf course’s presence and were loyal customers at the restaurant. The neighborhood watch group held its meetings at the clubhouse over the years, he said.
“This neighborhood supports this,” Theaker said.
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