As the old reality competition show puts it, one day you’re in, the next day you’re out. Humbling words to live by, but especially true in the restaurant world, where razor-thin margins and the fickle hand of fate make things even more dicey. This was a big week for closures in the region—but it wasn’t all bad news, as several restaurants announced expansions and new outposts. Let’s get into which spots are putting the “in” in Indy and which are bidding us a sad goodbye.
IN: Shin Dig is a new restaurant from Cunningham Restaurant Group, the Indy-based dining empire behind Boulder Creek, Bru Burger, and Commission Row … and that’s just some of their places from the first three letters of the alphabet. (A full list of their businesses is online.) Planned inside a vacant warehouse at 1351 Roosevelt Ave., Shin Dig will, as the IBJ reports, be a 7,800-square-foot restaurant with a 6,000-square-foot outdoor dining space, and will serve up a casual-sounding lunch and dinner menu. Opening date is TBD.
OUT: Opened by serial Indy restaurateur Gino Pizzi in 2019, seafood spot Blupoint Coastal Kitchen (5858 N. College Ave., 317-559-3259) announced its impending closure via Instagram this week. “We have made the decision to not renew our lease at the end of this month and so next week will be the last week that Blupoint will be open at this location,” the message read. The restaurant, which also went by Blupoint Oyster House, will serve its last guests on April 27.
IN: Controversial yet confident Carmel bar The GOAT Tavern (220 2nd St. SW, Carmel, 317-843-4628) is back in business after neighborhood complaints closed it for two years. Our pals at IndyStar caught wind of its quiet reopening last month and noted that a bar spokesperson says that an “an influx of patrons” from the notoriously malevolent burg of—wait for it … Marion County—contributed to the bar’s earlier downfall. Those residing inside the 465 loop might try their entry chances on May 4, when a grand opening celebration is planned.
OUT: The downtown Indy outpost of dessert chain Sugar Factory (49 W. Maryland St., 463-217-0383) is in big trouble. According to court documents reported by a multitude of media outlets, your dentist’s least favorite Instagram location tag has allegedly not paid rent since January 2023 and owes its landlord, the Circle Centre Mall, over $333,000. (It’s only been open since April 2022, so it’s allegedly been in default longer than it’s been in good rental standing. Yikes.) An eviction hearing for the business is set for May 1 in Marion Superior Court.
OUT: A long-planned Greenwood outpost of chain Mexican spot Condado Tacos is close to opening, WISH reports. This will be the fifth Indy-area location for the Ohio-based chain, which faced backlash in 2020 after firing employees who protested against law enforcement and faced worker claims of sexual harassment and racial bias, Food and Wine reported at the time. According to its website, Condado has since “hired external advisors to help us gain greater insight on these important issues” and is taking action “to emphasize diversity and inclusion within our company.” The address of the still-under-construction business has yet to be announced, but opening is planned for July.
OUT (in name only) and IN: A new bar called Out on Mass has had a “coming soon” sign up at 607 Massachusetts Avenue for around a year. Now its owners tell the IBJ that the business will open in fall 2024. The bar and restaurant will be geared toward the LGBTQ+ community, trading iconic area mural Dimensional Shadows for a new entrance and transforming an adjacent parking lot into outdoor seating.
OUT: Last month, we noted that 6-month-old Memento Zero Proof Lounge (8701 E. 116th St., Fishers) had closed “indefinitely,” but now it’s definite. Via Instagram, the booze-free cocktail bar and coffeehouse announced this week that it “could not reach an agreement with our landlord to reopen.” Owners Shwa Hall and Max Gavin say they “eagerly anticipate new opportunities to continue making a positive impact in our community.”
IN: One of Indy’s most distinctive areas is getting two new businesses. Plaid & Pearls Coffee Lounge and Sushi Boss, both locally owned operations, have plans to open at 6 W. Washington St. and 26 Monument Circle, respectively. The IBJ expects Plaid & Pearls’ plans to be up and running before June’s NBA finals, while the third location of Jason Hornberger’s decade-old fish biz will open this summer.
OUT: In news that rocked the city’s craft coffee scene, Small Victories Hospitality founders Neal and Paul Warner announced via Instagram that they had closed their beloved pastry shop Landlocked Baking Company (118 S. Audubon Rd.) and coffee shop/wine bar Chalet (5555 N. Illinois St.). They’re also stepping away from two of their other businesses, the Athenaeum’s Coat Check Coffee (401 E. Michigan St., 317-207-2127) and Monon trail–adjacent cafe Provider (1101 E. 16th St., 317-550-5685).
If you’re like me, you were freaked out that the Warners’ ecosystem of businesses was basically Thanos-snapped, with only tiki bar and restaurant Strange Bird (118 S. Audubon Rd., 317-550-4115) remaining. But after speaking with the Warners and the coffee shops’ new owners (you’ll see my full story in next month’s issue), while this contraction might have been inevitable, everything might still work out in the end.
