Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The owner of Gallery Pastry Shop plans to close the Meridian-Kessler restaurant this weekend, bringing an end to a brunch-focused concept that had grown to three locations in recent years.
Alison Keefer has announced Jan. 12 as the last day of service at Gallery Pastry Shop, 4573 N. College Ave., citing her intent to focus on design consulting, private catering and the care of three sons.
“I put my heart and soul into the creation of Gallery and this was an incredibly difficult decision,” Keefer said in a written statement issued Monday. “After having my third child a few months ago, I have decided that it is best to go back to our roots, which will also give me time to focus on my three very young boys, my family and my health.”
The demise of Gallery Pastry restaurants began in August 2024, when Keefer closed Gallery Bistro & Bar, 110 S. Pennsylvania St. Gallery Bistro & Bar opened across the street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 2020.
Gallery on 16th, 319 E 16th St., served brunch crepes and mimosas on the first floor of the Three 19 condo development from 2021 until the restaurant ceased operations in November.
During 2024 interviews, Keefer told the IBJ that Gallery Bistro & Bar and Gallery on 16th suffered from a lack of customers on a consistent basis.
In November, she expressed optimism that Gallery Pastry Shop would persevere.
“I really love my team,” said Keefer, who grew up in Fort Wayne and previously worked in admissions at the Chef’s Academy culinary school that was part of bygone Harrison College. “It’s a good mix of some new people we’ve brought in and some people who have been with me for years and years.”
Complaints accompanied the exits of Gallery Bistro & Bar and Gallery on 16th.
In posts on the Reddit social media platform, former employees accused Gallery Pastry of not fulfilling its payroll commitments, and some posts featured screenshots of violations listed in restaurant inspection reports (which are accessible to the public at the Marion County Public Health Department’s website).
Keefer told IBJ late last year that up-to-date paychecks had been issued to all Gallery Pastry employees, with no gaps since the company launched in 2016. Any complaints, Keefer said, originated with employees who exited the company and were unclear on the compensation policy.
“Payroll is every two weeks on Monday,” she said. “If you quit or terminate your employment with no notification or if you are terminated and make zero arrangements with us, the automatic thing is that we mail your check. If your address is not correct on file, the check is going to be sent back to us and we put that in the safe.”
Regarding inspection reports that noted a lack of hot water at Gallery Pastry Shop in October, Keefer said late last year that a “wire fried on a water heater” and required an emergency plumbing solution. Gallery Pastry Shop subsequently received a series of $50 fines, Keefer said, for electronic sensors not working on hand-washing sinks in the kitchen.
“We had to order parts for the sensors and it just took some time,” she said.
Keefer and Gallery Pastry co-founder Ben Hardy, who left the business in 2022, opened the original Gallery Pastry Shop at the 54th & Monon Shops retail center nine years ago.
In 2023, Gallery Pastry Shop moved to the intersection of 46th Street and College Avenue.
The restaurant took over an Art Moderne building that opened as a Kroger grocery story in 1932. From 2018 to 2022, Next Door American Eatery and ND streetBar—two concepts co-founded by Kimbal Musk, brother of Elon Musk—operated as restaurants in the 4,500-square-foot building.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
That is a lot of words to say the business model didn’t work
Make 4573 College Ave into a neighborhood grocery store again
Brought it upon yourself.
I enjoyed Gallery and knew several people from early on that worked there at all levels. But simply put: the place was a trainwreck from a basic ‘managing a restaurant’ perspective, and that falls on far more than any one person. This is unpleasant but unsurprising.
Hopefully someone who knows what they’re doing will step up and make this great building and location work for the neighborhood.
Too small for another grocery store and limited parking. Root & Bone is fabulous. We need another great concept to replace The Gallery and it would be great to have both the SW corner of 46th/College and the NW corner of 49th/College developed to add further value to M-K residents.
Sorry to see them go and there was work to be done to sustain the concept. Loved their french fries and grilled cheese! Will miss those for sure! I hope another restaurant goes in, love waling to dinner at Root & Bone and another option would be fantastic.
Turn back into a Neighborhood Grocery Market like a Oldskool Dale Farm Fresh Market and please The City of Indianapolis Force Greyhound Bus Hands to Clean up and Renovate soon.
I thought the food and the desserts were terrific. It was a tough road to hoe – we had a number of excellent and memorable meals there and the desserts were a featured treat in several of our meals. The attention to preparing really excellent food – even for weekday lunch/brunch — will be missed.