Some restaurant closings you expect, like the place that wrecked your burger every single time or the one where servers always seemed to be MIA.
When a restaurant that makes fried chicken you happily drive an hour to eat says good-bye, the ending leaves you sad and confused.
That's how it went with these Indianapolis restaurant closings.Thev offered great food, had loyal followings. A few boasted dishes that won national acclaim or were mainstay Hoosier favorites.
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Then, there were those restaurants that seemed too popular to ever close, but nothing is forever, especially in the restaurant business.
Scotty’s Brewhouse
Fans claimed that Scotty's Brewhouse was never the same after founder Scott Wise sold the place for reportedly millions of dollars in 2016, although the Indiana native stayed on with Due North Holdings, the Arizona-based company that purchased Scotty's. In December, Scotty's declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying the goal was to close four struggling locations including Scotty's in Carmel and Downtown Indy. In court documents, the company said high rent prices, changing customer demographics and increased competition were to blame for departures, due by 2018's end.
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Tim Hortons
Fans were ecstatic in 2016 when quintessential Canadian coffee shop Tim Hortons announced it was coming to Indianapolis. By mid-2017, three locations were in the works. Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe worked the drive-through on opening day in January 2018 at the first location, 8301 Rockville Road. Tim Horton’s seemed to be on a roll, and then, boom, four months later that west-side restaurant closed, and Hobart-based developer Luke Brands vice president Tom Collins Jr. said the company would not be building any Tim Hortons in Indianapolis, Plainfield and Westfield.
Tim Hortons’ parent company, Restaurant Brands International, did not respond to IndyStar requests for details. At the time of the closing, Tim Hortons franchise owners had filed lawsuits in Canada and the United States claiming that Restaurant Brands International misspent money meant for advertising. More lawsuits against the company followed.
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Papa Roux
East-side Cajun restaurant Papa Roux was known as much for owner Art Bouvier's opinions as it was for po’ boys. Bouvier unleashed again when he announced the restaurant’s last day in October. “Increased taxes and fees just to operate,” Bouvier lamented in a 1,400-word statement explaining why Papa Roux’s was finished. “It certainly feels like the town is suddenly hostile to small business in every possible way.”
Since opening Papa Roux in 2007 at 8950 E. 10th St., Bouvier had drawn cheers and jeers for his positions, like the time offered a 25 percent discount to anyone who showed their license to carry a handgun after Papa Roux was robbed.
Old Point Tavern
The buzz about Mass Ave. this year was all the "chain" places taking over the strip: World of Beer, Sub Zero, Goodfellas Pizzeria, Burger Fuel, Yats. The harshest blow, as far as critics were concerned, came in January when Old Point Tavern, 401 Massachusetts Ave., closed to make way for Indianapolis-based Cunningham Restaurant Group’s reincarnation of the 130-year-old bar and its beloved nachos.
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New Tavern at the Point opened in May with arguably better nachos (brisket burnt ends and beer cheese) than the bean, chicken and cheese nachos served at Old Point, but loyalists would have none of it. Some of them boycotted the remodeled Tavern at the Point and its upgraded food and cocktail menu, but the pub thrives despite the backlash.
Santorini Greek Kitchen
Santorini's run at 1417 Prospect St. ceased in March after an 18-year run, leaving fans heartbroken. Hundreds of them responded to a Facebook post announcing the Fountain Square area restaurant’s finale. Lines stretched out the door during the business’ final days.
Owners Taki and Jeanette Sawi said they needed to focus personal health issues and their catering and carry-out service at Biltwell Event Center, 950 S. White River Parkway West Drive. Loco Mexican Restaurant in December opened in the former Santorini space.
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B. Spot
Celebrity chef Michael Symon spent a lot of time signing autographs and taking selfies with fans in Indianapolis when his B. Spot restaurant opened in summer 2015 at Ironworks, 2727 E. 86th St., but the restaurant closed suddenly in April.
One day it was there and then, literally, the next day a moving van was parked outside.
Michael Symon Restaurants partner Doug Petkovic said the burger market in Indianapolis is "very, very crowded…We enjoyed (Indianapolis) but decided to move on." B. Spot closings followed in the Detroit area and in Columbus, Ohio. Three locations remain in Cleveland.
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King David Dogs
After more than a decade of selling quarter-pound, all-beef hot dogs based on an Indianapolis family recipe that dates to the early 1900s, King David Dogs owners on Nov. 21 closed the Downtown shop, 135 N. Pennsylvania St. Mostly weekday, lunchtime clientele limited the business’ profitability in Downtown’s burgeoning restaurant market. Plus, owner Brent Joseph was ready to move on to his new catering and event businesses, Mercenary BBQ.
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Mercenary serves King David Dogs along with various smoked meats including brisket, turkey, pastrami and what David considers impressive beef ribs. A King David Dogs café remains at Indianapolis International Airport, and you may buy packaged franks at some retail stores. Joseph revived the franks recipe from his grandfather and great-uncle’s Hene Meat Co., in operation from 1941 to the early 1990s.
Stella
It was shocker enough when chef Neal Brown in February 2017 shuttered his hip Pizzology in one of Mass Ave.’s coolest buildings, at the popping East Street intersection. Mouths dropped again almost exactly a year later when Brown locked up Stella, the southern European restaurant that replaced Pizzology.
Brown never commented on why the restaurants closed, but both Stella and Pizzology, 611 East St., faced new competition from bigger companies on Mass Ave. The space remains empty and Brown has moved on to his new Ukiyo Japanese spot in SoBro, consulting on the menu for Daredevil Hall taproom and restaurant coming to Ironworks Hotel and developing Midtown Brasserie at the art deco-style bank building, 215 E. 38th St., between Central and Meridian streets.
Tie Dye Grill
Four- and five-star ratings. A famous tenderloin. A new location. None of it could save hippie-themed Tie Dye Grill, which closed July 27. Equipment, health issues, lack of business and poor location played into the closing, co-owner Chad Stearns said.
Tie Dye was near the chopping block, with a rent increase looming, in December 2017. Stearns, who ran the restaurant with his parents Jan and Shayne Dye, moved the east-side business from 1311 N. Shadeland Ave. to a Moose Lodge around the corner, rather than close the doors. "I just tried to delay the inevitable," Stearns said.
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Tenderloins cut from fresh pork loins and sprinkled with "magic seasoning" started as a weekly special but became so popular they landed on the regular menu. A USA Today 2016 poll ranked the sandwich among Indiana's top 10 breaded tenderloins. In 2017, it starred in an episode of Cooking Channel show "Cheap Eats." Tie Dye had some famous fans, too, including former Indy mayor Greg Ballard, former Pacers player George McGinnis and "Survivor" star and 2012 Libertarian candidate for governor Rupert Boneham.
Nashville House
Lots of people made the drive from Indianapolis to one of Brown County’s most iconic restaurants, known for its fried chicken, mashed potatoes and fried biscuits with apple butter. Open since 1927, the place closed in October, after owner Frank “Andy” Rogers died. Rogers’s father Jack Rogers co-founded the restaurant with Fred Johnson. Andy Rogers took over in 1959.
https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/dining/2018/12/26/indianapolis-most-shocking-restaurant-closings-2018/2060734002/ 2018-12-26 11:00:00Z
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