French restaurant set for January opening in Carmel’s Sophia Square

French restaurant Josephine will open in late January 2025 at Sophia Square in Carmel's Arts & Design District. (Photo provided by Keystone Group)

The owners of two restaurants, a cocktail bar and a speakeasy in Indianapolis are branching out to Carmel with a French-inspired restaurant that will open next month in the city’s Arts & Design District.

Ambrosia Hospitality Group owners Dan and Anna Cage plan to open Josephine in late January in a 5,100-square-foot anchor space in the Sophia Square building at the corner of West Main Street and First Avenue SW.

The husband-and-wife team will add Josephine—named for Josephine de Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte—to a roster of establishments that includes Broad Ripple restaurant Ambrosia, Fall Creek Place restaurant Bocca, Massachusetts Avenue cocktail bar Nowhere Special and Fountain Square speakeasy The Commodore.

The 125-seat Josephine at 110 W. Main St. will offer a full dinner menu of French dishes, such as steak frites (beefsteak and deep-fried potatoes) and croque monsieur (a hot sandwich with ham and cheese). The restaurant also will feature a variety of French wines and cognacs.

The space, which previously housed The Pint Room, has undergone renovations that are nearly complete. The Pint Room closed in late 2023 after nearly a decade in operation.

Dan Cage said Sophia Square’s architecture reminded him of his time in Paris. Sophia Square, a $60 million, five-story building with 214 luxury apartments and 33,000 square feet of retail space, was developed by Indianapolis-based Keystone Group and opened in 2011.

“We wanted to create something that was ambitious, but approachable and fun,” he said. “We are proud of the concept we’ve created, but ultimately our identity remains firmly anchored to authentic heartfelt hospitality. AHG has a reputation for establishing creative culinary concepts that become neighborhood favorites, and Josephine will bring that same quality and excitement to Carmel.”

Dan Cage is a former Bishop Chatard High School basketball standout who played at Vanderbilt University and then professionally in Europe.

Anna Cage is the daughter of Gino Pizzi, who opened the original Ambrosia restaurant in 1979. Dan and Anna Cage purchased a controlling interest in Ambrosia, 5903 N. College Ave., in 2019. In 2022, Anna Cage was promoted to the role of vice president of radio promotion for country music label Warner Music Nashville.

The Commodore and Bocca, 122 E. 22nd St., each opened in 2021.

Nowhere Special, 608 Massachusetts Ave., opened in 2023 at the former location of Libertine Liquor Bar, which did not reopen after the pandemic’s era of stay-at-home orders.