Treasure Island owner talks history in Moraine

June 10, 2019 adminav

Duane Isaacs is the owner of Treasure Island Supper Club, a longtime traditional American restaurant in Moraine. Established in 1961, the locally owned restaurant’s menu includes a variety of steaks and seafood dishes, along with salads, appetizers, burgers, and sandwiches. Located at 4250 Chief Woods Lane, Treasure Island also offers a full-service bar and separate banquet facility for large parties, meetings, and corporate events. The restaurant has just over 40 employees.

The Dayton Business Journal spoke with Isaacs about Treasure Island’s longevity and changes in the Moraine community over the years.

(This interview has been lightly edited for clarity).

How long have you owned Treasure Island?

I’ve been the owner for 39 years. The restaurant became Treasure Island in 1961, but the building was actually built in the 1940s. Originally, at least from what I’ve heard, it was an Hungarian cafeteria for employees at the nearby Frigidaire plant.

Duane Isaacs is the longtime owner of Treasure Island Supper Club.

What are the restaurant’s most popular dishes?

Probably our salads, and a lot of our steaks and chops as well.

The 10-ounce lobster tail at Treasure Island.

What changes has Moraine seen over the years?

The year I took over Treasure Island was the same year they were tearing down the old Frigidaire stuff to build the General Motors plant at that site (2801 W. Stroop Road). Then GM closed in 2008. The restaurant is right there next to it, and it was a big change. Fortunately, we were established enough by then, but it really hurt some other small businesses around there. The Fuyao plant is now where GM was.

What do you think has helped Treasure Island stay in business for so many years?

We try to be consistent and have good food. We’ve had many good employees over the years who have been with us a long time, and we’re all just trying to run a good restaurant. We have a lot of people who have been coming in for years; if you worked there, you could probably call most of them by name after just a month.

Are there any new menu items planned for the summer season?

We change the menu around to some degree sometimes, but a lot of people come there for certain things they like. So when you start taking those menu items off and doing other things, people will ask about it. So we keep it mostly consistent.