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A downtown coffee shop that opened temporarily during NBA All-Star Weekend is projected to reopen as a full-time business by the time the NBA Finals begin in June.
Plaid & Pearls Coffee Lounge debuted in February in the former location of Pearings Cafe & Frozen Yogurt, 6 W. Washington St., which permanently closed during pandemic lockdown in 2020 after seven years of business.
Keri Hughes, who founded Plaid & Pearls as a mobile coffee operation in 2022, said she’s eager to launch brick-and-mortar operations at the storefront near the intersection of Washington and Meridian streets.
“It’s a really great spot,” said Hughes, an alum of Ben Davis High School and IUPUI. “It’s really good for people watching and for being connected to other events around the city, other business people and people coming to explore Indianapolis.”
The 2,200-square-foot shop plans to open with assistance from “In the Mix,” an initiative focused on Black-owned businesses coordinated by cultural development firm GangGang in partnership with Downtown Indy Inc.’s Rebuilding and Recovery Committee.
Plaid & Pearls will be the third In the Mix enterprise, following apparel companies Nap or Nothing, which opened in 2022 at 525 Massachusetts Ave., and Cargo Streetwear Boutique, which opened in 2023 at 1015 Virginia Ave.
Catherine Esselman, a project manager for In the Mix, said it’s too early to pinpoint an opening date for the Plaid & Pearls location one block south of Monument Circle. The month of May would be ideal, Esselman said.
“The daytime traffic needs a coffee shop,” she said. “Thankfully, others have opened, but it’s the right kind of use for that space.”
Since October 2022, Starbucks locations have closed at 55 Monument Circle and inside Simon Property Group’s headquarters, 225 W. Washington St. A Command Coffee location took over the 55 Monument Circle spot in February, and Sun & Moon Cafe opened at 10 W. Market St. last June. A new Starbucks is expected to open this spring inside the Kite Realty Group Trust building at 30 S. Meridian St.
The NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee placed the Plaid & Pearls pop-up in the former Pearings spot as part of attractions known as the Cultural Corridor along Washington Street. A restaurant and entertainment venue took over the former Rock Bottom Brewery and the Indianapolis Artsgarden hosted a scaled-down version of the Butter fine art fair.
The Plaid & Pearls location is part of the eight-story H.P. Wasson & Co. Building, 2 N. Meridian St., which was purchased in October for $10.2 million by Illinois-based Government Investment Partners.
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This is great! I visited the spot a couple times during All-Star.