Story and Photo By: Randy Lewis

Middletown’s Gateway project is starting to take shape, at least in the sense that businesses are moving to other parts of town, some are leaving locations they have called home for more than 20 years.

The Gateway Project is Middletown’s attempt at having a scheduled stop for the upcoming train that is set to travel between Columbus and Cincinnati, with a stop in Dayton. The city has made a land swap with Duncan Oil, the owners of the now closed Shamrock gas station. Middletown has traded the land between Central and First Avenue, where these businesses are located, to Duncan Oil for the building of new Shamrock station, and in return the city gets the land that Shamrock once set on in the hopes of building a new and improved train depot.

Billie’s Salon located on Central Avenue at the end of Charles Street, in the plaza that once held Jacks Pool Hall, will be moving across from the Middletown Post Office. Billie’s has been in the same location for 21 years but now must be relocated by April 6, 2010.

I spoke with Missy,who currently works at the salon and will be taking over Billie’s when the move happens and renaming the salon Crazy 4 Hair.

She told MiddletownUSA.com that she was sad to see the business move after all these years, but is looking forward to starting over in a new location.

Gold Rush Swap Shop once located at the corner of Central Avenue and Grimes Street has now moved further up Central. There new location is now across from Mid-Town Drive Thru in the old Music Central Building. I visited them yesterday to find a store three times as large as the old Gold Rush. The manager asked me to not use his name, but did say that these types of stores have an unwarranted bad rap and he hopes to change that with this new and improved Gold Rush location.

Also moving to a new location will be the office John Cowden, Podiatrist. Their new office will be on old 25 near Sonic.

Jacks Pool Hall, which had been in the same plaza for close to 30 years closed three months ago, and will not reopen. 

Discuss this in the MUSA forum Businesses Move Due To Gateway

To learn more about the land swap you can visit the MUSA forum

City Land Swap with Duncan Oil