North-side Italian mainstay serving up second restaurant in Yard at Fishers project

The owner of north-side Italian cuisine staple Sangiovese Ristorante is planning a second eatery to be located in The Yard at Fishers District, the $110 million mixed-use project taking shape on 116th Street east of Interstate 69.

The 3,800-square-foot restaurant will maintain much of the menu of the current Sangiovese but add Neapolitan pizza, flatbreads and other elements suitable for lunch patrons, owner Chris Evans told IBJ on Tuesday.

It also will retain some semblance of the Sangiovese name and design, although it won’t be a carbon copy.

Evans said he has been looking for about two years for the right opportunity to add a second location. Sangiovese Ristorante is in the Ironworks at Keystone project at 2727 E. 86th St., where it has operated since June 2015. It previously leased space in the nearby Rivers Edge shopping center at 4110 E. 82nd St.

Evans said he was attracted to The Yard for the synergy of its residential, hospitality and eatery elements. The 17-acre project is expected to include more than a dozen restaurants, a dual-branded Hyatt hotel and hundreds of apartments.

“We have some really strong tenants up there,” he said. “It’s a great situation, to be surrounded by so many good neighbors and restaurateurs.”

The roster of restaurants has been taking shape since late 2017. The local restaurateur behind St. Elmo Steak House and Harry & Izzy’s is planning a $5 million American grill to be called The HC Grill, as well as a second location for the 1933 Lounge, which debuted above St. Elmo several years ago..

Sun King Brewing Co. is planning to open a 13,000-square-foot specialty production craft brewery and tap room. Other tenants include RAWkin Juice, Havana Cigar and Cocktail Lounge, Copper Moon Coffee, Nicey Treat, Kincaids Meat Market and Los Arroyos.

Thompson Thrift Retail Group, a subsidiary of project developer Thompson Thrift, confirmed the lease deal for the new Sangiovese restaurant.

Evans plans to invest about $1 million in developing the new restaurant, he said. It will have indoor seating for about 130 patrons, a large bar, and a patio that could seat more than 40 people.

Evans expects the new restaurant to open somewhere in the window of August to October 2019.

Local restaurateur Gino Pizzi, who owns Ambrosia on College Avenue in Broad Ripple, founded Sangiovese in 1994 and sold it to Evans in 2007.