Roundup: Downtown bank branch closing; restaurant coming to Piccadilly

A closing at a prominent downtown intersection leads off the latest roundup of retail news.

• First Financial Bank at 1 N. Pennsylvania St. will shut its doors May 29, according to a sign posted on its doors.

In July, the Cincinnati-based bank announced that it had agreed to a 10-year lease on about 18,000 square feet of space on the 14th floor of the 300 N. Meridian office tower, to be occupied by executive, administrative and sales operations. First Financial also opened a 1,500-square-foot branch in the building.

The closing will leave two vacancies at the intersection of Pennsylvania and Washington streets. The building across the street at the northwest corner has been empty since Dunkin Donuts left in March 2013.

• The owners of the Legend in Irvington, John and Kim Robertson, are launching another restaurant, in the Herron Morton neighborhood, called Penn & Palate (a reference to the former Herron Art School location). The “family-friendly” eatery set to open in the historic Piccadilly apartment building at the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and East 16th streets will host a “preview dinner” March 23, according to a Facebook post.

• Eva Maison is set to open April 1 in Broad Ripple at 912 E. Westfield Blvd., in the old Lucky B location across from 317 Burger.

Eva Maison is a family-owned and operated organic makeup line from Aruba. The Broad Ripple location will be the company’s first store in the United States. Owner Josh Posner describes the shop as Sephora meets Whole Foods (because the line is organic) meets Anthropology (because of the shops vibe and decor). He and his wife will be moving to Indianapolis to manage the U.S. expansion.
 
The shop will be decorated with furniture and art from the Flux antique shop in Fountain Square and will be available for purchase.

• Also on April 1, Squealers BBQ Grill will open its third location, at 5899 E. 86th St. in Castleton in space vacated in 2010 by Max & Erma’s. Mooresville-based Squealers has barbeque joints in Mooresville and at 5515 W. 86th St. in Indianapolis.  

Squealers features its signature southern style barbeque recipes, side dishes, a selection of Indiana craft beers, and catering and carryout options.

• A McDonald’s restaurant is opening March 12 at 5617 N. Michigan Road near Kessler Boulevard and the new Walmart Neighborhood Market that opened last summer. The restaurant is operated by local McDonald’s franchisee Pamela Wheeler Poore.

• The Range Pet Lodge is set to open March 14 in Carmel at 1045 N. Rangeline Road. Owner Hal Bond, who also operates Companion Animal Medical Centers, bills the lodge as Carmel's only animal boarding facility that's staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The 24,000-square-foot facility features 93 "cottages and cabins" for dogs, as well as "cat condos," in addition to 4,000 square feet of daycare space that includes an outside play area.

Grooming services will be offered by Carmel groomer Wendy Crawford and a wellness clinic by Bond's animal medical group.
 
• Sangiovese should reopen, in the Ironworks development at East 86th Street and North Keystone Avenue, in early May, the restaurant’s owner, Chris Evans, tells Property Lines.

The upscale Italian eatery has been off the local culinary scene since closing in September after Evans declined to renew his lease at 4110 E. 82nd St. in the Rivers Edge shopping center. Giordano’s pizzeria since has taken the space.

• AT&T opened a store March 6 at 8812 U.S. 31 South just north of County Line Road. AT&T says the store is the first in Indiana to feature design and merchandising elements borrowed from its flagship Michigan Avenue location in Chicago.

• Chapati has opened at 4930 Lafayette Road, Suite G, north of the Walmart Supercenter. The family-owned, East Asian restaurant features organic, free-range halal meats and a menu of dishes priced from $5.99 to $9.99.