Krieg Bros. building sold to owner of nearby structure

A local developer has bought the building formerly occupied by Krieg Bros. Religious Supply House on South Meridian Street.

Buyer Rick Coombes also owns the building at 111 S. Meridian St., the former home of Brenner Luggage located just north of where the religious store operated for decades.

The well-known Indianapolis fixture closed Dec. 3 after nearly 120 years in business. It had been located in the four-story building at 119 S. Meridian St. since the early 1960s.

Jerry Krieg of Atlanta, Ga., whose grandfather helped open the business in 1892, said the sale of the building to Coombes became official on Dec. 14.

Coombes’ building next door has condos upstairs, including one owned by Peyton Manning.

Plans for the Krieg building are unclear. Coombes didn’t respond to phone calls from IBJ.

But Krieg said Coombes purchased the rights to the Krieg name for five years, allowing him to use the moniker to operate a similar business. If Coombes pursues a religious store in the same location, it would be much more scaled down and likely would feature mostly statues.

Krieg Bros. conducted an on-site auction on Dec. 12 to sell its entire inventory, about $400,000 worth.

Krieg declined to divulge the sale price of the building or how much the auction raised.