Ale Emporium opening in Fishers, replacing Casler’s

Ale Emporium in Castleton, known for its Hermanaki-style wings, is opening a second location, where the popular Casler’s Kitchen and Bar in Fishers served up its pub fare for the past eight years.

Casler’s, at 11501 Geist Pavilion Drive, near East 116th Street and Olio Road, closed Wednesday after its assets were bought by the owners of Ale Emporium.

The Fonseca family operated Casler’s and announced the closing on its Facebook page.

"It is with a very heavy heart that the Fonseca family announces that as of this morning (Wednesday) we have sold Casler’s Kitchen and Bar … and are closing,” the post read. “We have loved being a part of all of our patrons' lives through the laughs, cheers, proposals, weddings, reunions, dances, and I am sure through a few late-night disagreements.”

Ale Emporium hopes to open in January, said co-owner Shannon Baun. She and her husband, Michael, along with her father, Marc Luros, operate the Castleton location at 8617 Allisonville Road.

The trio also own the Fishers location, along with Tony Kwiatkowski, who was brought on as a business partner solely to run the Hamilton County outpost, Shannon Baun said. Kwiatkowski is a former Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee and has food and beverage experience.

“It was turnkey for us,” Baun said. “We were looking to be in the Geist/Fishers area. There were other locations available. It just so happened that this was turnkey.”

The Fishers space will be much smaller than the 12,000 square feet Ale Emporium occupies in Castleton, she said. It also will be family-friendly until it turns 21 and over by 10 p.m. nightly. That’s different from the Castleton Ale Emporium, where minors aren’t allowed.

The menu at Fishers will be smaller but mostly the same as it is in Castleton, Baun said.

Luros founded Ale Emporium in 1982. It once had a northwest location, at 86th and Township Line Road, which later became Neon Johnny’s.

Owners of Ale Emporium might explore other locations besides Fishers, but for “the next couple of years, we’ll keep our focus on that,” Baun said.