Roundup: New taqueria to replace Plow & Anchor downtown

We’ll start today's roundup off with an update on what co-owners of the Plow & Anchor restaurant, which closed Jan. 2, have planned for the downtown space.

• Craig Baker and Derek Means have yet to settle on a name for what next will occupy the Plow & Anchor space 43 E. 9th St. just north of the Central Library. But what they do know is that it will be a Mexican taqueria offering four different styles of tacos priced between $2.50 and $3 each. Pozole soup, salads, desserts, and chips with salsa and guacamole also will be available.

They hope to open the new restaurant within the next month and plan to close every night by 7 p.m., Means told Property Lines. The space will be available for special-event dinners a few times a month.

Co-owners Baker and Means launched Plow & Anchor in The Ambassador apartment building in May 2014. But the pair ran into parking problems once Buckingham began building its apartment project on the surface lot directly north of the library. That, combined with an average dinner cost of $45 per plate, didn’t help generate traffic, Means said.

“I think the space works,” Means said. “The parking and the price point were just very challenging.”  

Baker and Means also run Bent Rail Brewery, just south of Broad Ripple, and The Local Eatery and Pub in Westfield.

More re-openings:

• Palomino Restaurant & Bar in Circle Centre mall is set to reopen Jan. 22 after closing Jan. 9 for an interior “refresh.”

• The Best Chocolate in Town, at 880 Massachusetts Ave. east of College Avenue, is slated to reopen Jan. 20 in remodeled space.

Owned by Elizabeth Garber, the chocolate shop has been a staple of the Mass Ave Cultural District since 2007. The expansion makes room for a 28-seat café and a complete coffee and espresso bar. A larger menu includes baked goods and cookies.  

• The Hi-Fi music venue at 1043 Virginia Ave. is scheduled to reopen Jan. 20 and will feature expanded performance space and increased capacity to 400.

The 30-day transformation, which included acquiring the adjacent space formerly occupied by local art gallery iMOCA, will enable Hi-Fi to attract larger acts. Indianapolis native Otis Gibbs will headline the reopening. Tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the door.

Broad Ripple:

• Hardwicke’s Pipe & Tobacco at 743 Broad Ripple Ave. has closed, about a year after the downtown location shut its doors.

The Hardwicke’s in Broad Ripple predated the shop at 18 N. Meridian St., just off Monument Circle, which had been a downtown staple since 1977.

• Erbert & Gerbert’s Sandwich Shop opened Jan. 14 at 930 Broad Ripple Ave., in the space formerly occupied by Sigman’s Gallery at the intersection of Broad Ripple and Winthrop avenues.

Franchisee Keith Keokuk and a business partner hope to open four of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based shops by the end of the year, with several more to follow.

Elsewhere:

• Big Woods Brewing Co. has entered into an agreement to open a restaurant at the Hillview Country Club in Franklin. The location should be open by early spring and will serve the general public as well as Hillview members.

Big Woods, founded in Nashville, Indiana, in 2009, also has restaurants in Bloomington and Speedway. The Franklin location will feature craft beers from Big Woods’ Quaff On! Brewing Co. and cocktails from its Hard Truth Distilling Co.

Big Woods takes over at the golf club for Scotty’s Brew Pub. Scotty’s and Hillview mutually agreed last month to terminate their contract, according to a Facebook post, after Scotty’s was purchased by a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company.

• Broad Ripple’s Monon Food Co. is set to launch by spring a new fast-casual restaurant called MOFOCO at 301 N. Illinois St. downtown. The menu mostly will consist of tacos, burgers and macaroni and cheese. The eatery is taking the space formerly occupied by Great Steak and Potato Co.

• Noodles & Co. is set to open Jan. 30 in the food court of The Fashion Mall.

• Which Wich is taking 2,160 square feet at 862 S. State Road 135 at Village Commons in Greenwood.