Brookside Farm, the country home of Verna and George Benham, located south of Lebanon, Ohio, became a "tea room" every Sunday. Using their own chickens, garden vegetables, and home baked pies, the family (sons Jim and Lyle and daughters Betty and Roberta) served pan-fried chicken and steak dinners. A pump in the front yard provided water for meals prepared in a converted shed. Customers came from Dayton and Cincinnati to enjoy dinner in the front parlors, and then to listen to the Redlegs' games on radio on the lawn.

After this family enterprise was ended by her sons' military service, Verna Benham brought her cooking talents to Dayton in 1944. She and her daughter Roberta managed Meadowbrook Country Club during the war. Then with her son, Jim, and his wife Emily, Verna leased the Far Hills Restaurant in Oakwood in 1947.

With Verna Benham's death in 1962, her son Jim was joined by his sister Betty, and in 1964, her daughter Becky and son-in-law Bill Howser joined the catering staff. The company was purchased by Bill Howser and was moved to a downtown site in 1973, the present location. (This building was constructed as a grocery, and later became L. C. George’s store for appliances and school supplies. Dayton Clutch and Joint operated in the adjoining shop.)

In the 70's, portable catering equipment was developed to serve meals at locations without kitchen facilities (ovens, grills, and refrigerators were transported to "primitive" sites). The location area for customers thus extended into Cincinnati and Louisville for seated dinners under tents and awnings, and into the Kentucky horse farm region for functions during the racing season. A highlight of long distance catering was the private luncheon in Kentucky for Queen Elizabeth in 1984.

A summer "box lunch" operation in a small tent on Dayton's Courthouse Plaza in 1984 was moved that fall into our private party room, now Benham's Restaurant. Customers stopping by our party room for a fried chicken box lunch has evolved into our present restaurant operation: weekdays for lunch and weekends for dinner. We enjoy serving our new customers not familiar with our catering background, as well as seeing our longtime friends. We hope you have a pleasant dining experience. Come again soon.