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An Indianapolis native who owns a French Quarter bar plans to open a New Orleans-influenced cocktail spot in Fountain Square.
Magdalena, a raw bar concept, is scheduled to open Nov. 23 at 1127 Shelby St., where Thunderbird cocktail bar served drinks from 2014 to 2022.
Ben Davis High School and Indiana University alum Nick Detrich said oysters and chilled seafood dishes will highlight the food menu at Magdalena, his first Indianapolis venture after launching multiple restaurants in New Orleans.
Detrich presently owns Manolito, a daiquiri-focused bar one block away from the Mississippi River in New Orleans’ French Quarter. He previously managed two New Orleans cocktail bars, Cure and Jewel of the South, that won James Beard Foundation awards.
The Sazerac, a cocktail that originated in pre-Civil War New Orleans, will be part of Magdalena’s drink menu, Detrich said.
“We’re also going to do café brûlot service tableside,” Dietrich said. “It’s a communal drink that’s prepared next to the table in a cauldron with cognac and spices.”
The café brûlot process includes lighting the cognac on fire, pouring it onto a clove-studded orange peel and extinguishing the dessert cocktail with coffee. “Then we’ll ladle that into mugs for the guests,” Detrich said.
Detrich said Magdalena’s interior will emphasize the historic patina of a building that hosted rockabilly shows in the 1950s and live country music in the 1970s.
“The more hallowed the ground where we’re mixing drinks, the better it is,” said Detrich, who said Magdalena is named in honor of his late grandmother.
Joshua Gonzales, a mixologist who previously worked at Libertine and Ball & Biscuit, opened Thunderbird in February 2014 with restaurateurs Ed Rudisell and Carlos Salazar and real estate developer Jon Altman. Thunderbird closed on Dec. 31, 2022.
According to property records, Detrich purchased the 3,300-square-foot building for $1.6 million in 2023.
Crystal Kennard, vice president of brokerage for Tharp Realty, represented both the buyer, Detrich, and the seller, Altman, in the transaction.
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The raw bar concept has been tried several times in Indianapolis and spectacularly fails each time.
I feel like strange bird has been successful, but I agree its been tested quite a few times here in the indy with mixed results.
Strange bird likely stays open due to the ramen and cocktail aspect.
I hope he is successful.