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Multiple retailers, restaurants and other businesses recently opened, closed or began planning new locations in the north suburbs of Indianapolis. Here’s a rundown:
Valparaiso-based Family Express Corp. plans to build a 5,800-square-foot convenience store at the southeast corner of State Road 37 and East 135th Street in Fishers.
Plans call for a $5 million development on two acres at 13498 Bent Grass Lane that would include a gas station, automatic car wash, pet wash, and indoor and outdoor seating. The property is just north of Zaxby’s Chicken Fingers & Buffalo Wings and Taco Bell.
Joseph Calderone, an attorney with the Indianapolis office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, last week told members of the Fishers City Council that the company expects to begin construction in August and open by the end of the year.
Family Express started in 1975 when Gus Olympidis opened his first convenience store, then called Time Low, in Valparaiso.
Now, Family Express has 81 stores in central and northern Indiana, as well as a central bakery and distribution center in Valparaiso that has capacity to serve up to 400 stores. Calderone said the family-owned company is looking to continue growing.
In central Indiana, Family Express has locations at 7073 W. Washington St., 2430 N. Lebanon St. in Lebanon, 5964 W. Broadway in McCordsville and 1477 Chatham Commons in Westfield.
“They are pushing into the northern suburbs of Indianapolis: Westfield, Fishers, McCordsville etc., and they do have an aggressive growth plan,” Calderone told council members.
In 2017, Family Express introduced Cravin’s To Order, which sells made-to-order pizza, boneless wings, pretzels and breakfast items, with interior and exterior seating for 28. The store’s Cravin’s Market brand includes a line of sandwiches, wraps and salads. Locations also have bakeries that sell square doughnuts and other baked goods.
The stores feature a pet wash where, for $10, pet owners can give their pet a 12-minute bath, complete with shampoo, conditioner, and flea and tick treatment.
Family Express is seeking a text amendment to the Fishers Marketplace Planned Unit Development to update architectural and development standards for the business. The Fishers Plan Commission will review the proposal on June 5, and the Fishers City Council could vote on the project on June 17.
Osteria Carmel
Osteria Carmel, an Italian restaurant operated by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani at 11505 N. Illinois St. in Carmel, closed May 25.
Chicago-based Fabio Viviani Hospitality Group partnered with Giant Eagle’s Market District to open Osteria Carmel in the former Table by Market District space in fall 2021. The brunch, lunch and dinner restaurant served fresh pasta, meatballs, roasted chicken, pizza and other dishes from every region of Italy.
“This is not goodbye, but ‘see you later,'” a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page said. “Please be sure to follow along on Instagram @fabiovivianhospitality & Market District for updates on an exciting new concept coming to you soon!”
Desi District
Desi District, a Texas-based fast-casual Indian market and restaurant, plans to open in June at 313 E. Carmel Dr. in Carmel.
The market and restaurant will open in the building that most recently housed the Vine & Table wine and gourmet food shop.
Desi District’s sizable menu includes traditional Indian dishes, Indo-Chinese meals, sandwiches, butter chicken tikka burgers, fusion tacos and desserts.
The Carmel site will be Desi District’s first location outside Texas, where it has six markets and restaurants. It’s also planning locations in the Atlanta and Charlotte areas.
Meijer Grocery
Midwestern retail giant Meijer Inc. plans to open a 90,000-square-foot grocery store July 11 on the west side of Noblesville.
The new medium-format Meijer Grocery and a gas station occupies 17 acres in the Promenade at Noblesville development at 5956 Promenade Shops Blvd. near the northeast corner of State Road 32 and Little Chicago Road.
While traditional Meijer supercenters average 150,000 to 250,000 square feet, the chain’s new line of grocery stores, which go by the name Meijer Grocery, are between 75,000 and 90,000 square feet.
The store will be the first Meijer Grocery to open in Indiana. Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meijer also plans to build a 75,000-square-foot Meijer Grocery on the east side of Fishers.
Raising Canes
Raising Cane’s, which previously opened restaurants in Avon and Noblesville, opened its third central Indiana location Wednesday in Westfield.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based chicken finger chain opened the 2,800-square-foot restaurant at 14909 Thatcher Lane. The restaurant is east of U.S. 31 and south of East 151st Street.
A Steak ’n Shake restaurant previously occupied the building.
Often referred to as just “Cane’s” by its growing customer base—the 26-year-old chain features a limited menu that consists of deep-fried chicken fingers with dipping sauce, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw, Texas toast and soft drinks.
The AromaRoom
The AromaRoom, a therapeutic aromatherapy steam and salt therapy spa, opened May 13 at 762 S. Rangeline Road, Suite 64, in Carmel City Center.
The business owned by Shayla Webb also offers massages and sauna, infrared and red light therapy sessions.
The AromaRoom is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Niemann Harvest Market
Niemann Harvest Market, a farm-to-market-style grocery store, opened May 15 in Carmel at the Merchants’ Square shopping center northwest of East 116th Street and Keystone Parkway.
The 75,000-square-foot store at 2140 E. 116th St. took over a space formerly occupied by a Marsh Supermarkets store that closed in 2017 when the entire grocery chain went out of business.
The Merchants’ Square building served as a temporary home for the Carmel Clay Public Library for nearly two years between 2020 and 2022 while the library’s main branch underwent renovations.
Walk-On’s
Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux opened May 6 in a 7,900-square-foot building previously occupied by an O’Charley’s Restaurant + Bar northwest of the intersection of 116th Street and Interstate 69.
The Fishers location at 11655 Fishers Corner Blvd. opened four months after Walk-On’s closed its previous location at 247 S. Meridian St. in downtown Indianapolis.
Todd Johnson, NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks and Wade Kornblith are co-franchisees of the Fishers restaurant. Drew Brees, who starred at Purdue University and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, is a co-owner of the chain. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is a franchisee.
Tre
Restauranteur Chris Evans, who owns and operates Sangiovese restaurants at the Ironworks at Keystone complex on the north side of Indianapolis and in the Yard at Fishers District, opened Tre last month in the 1st on Main development in the Carmel Arts & Design District.
Tre (three in Italian) offers indoor seating for 120, outdoor seating for 40 to 50, a full-service bar and a private dining room.
Like the Indianapolis and Fishers Sangiovese eateries, Tre offers an upscale authentic Italian menu with noticeable differences from the other locations. Evans estimated last year that the menu would include only about 25% to 30% of the items featured at the other locations.
The 1st on Main mixed-use redevelopment project at the northeast corner of Range Line Road and Main Street includes a 73,000-square-foot office building with first-floor restaurant space and a private rooftop terrace; eight luxury condominiums ranging from 3,000 to 3,340 square feet; 35 upscale apartment units; a 310-space parking garage with public access; and a community plaza.
Hotel Nickel Plate
The $30 million Hotel Nickel Plate opened in late April on the south side of East 116th Street in downtown Fishers along the Nickel Plate Trail.
The five-story, 116-unit hotel under Hilton’s high-end Tapestry Collection brand. It is part of a larger $157 million mixed-use project in the Nickel Plate District.
Announced in December 2018, the district includes the six-story, 180,000-square-foot First Internet Bank headquarters, a 237-unit multifamily development called Nickel Plate Station and the rehabilitation of older buildings in downtown Fishers.
Indianapolis-based Browning Investments, lead developer of the overall project, co-developed the hotel with Fishers-based Dora Hotel Co.
The Tapestry brand was launched by Hilton in 2017, jumping on the bandwagon in the hospitality industry for small-scale, high-end hotels. They’re intended to feel like one-of-a-kind, independent hotels, each with distinctive elements related to their locations.
Twenty Two Juice Bar
Twenty Two Juice Bar opened April 15 at 11670 Commercial Dr., Suite 500, in Fishers.
Founded in 2013 by Fishers residents Ross and Leslie Hanna, Twenty Two Juice Bar serves acai bowls, smoothies and wellness shots.
The Hannas first operated out of a 1964 Shasta Airflyte camper trailer and opened their first location at the Indianapolis City Market. In 2022, they opened at The Garage Food Hall at Bottleworks District.
Azure Plastic Surgery and Med Spa
Azure Plastic Surgery and Med Spa, owned by Riverview Health, plans a grand opening June 14 at its new location at 14300 Clay Terrace Blvd., above Prime 47 steakhouse, in Carmel’s Clay Terrace. The facility formerly operated in the Riverview Health’s Westfield hospital.
Led by plastic surgeon Dr. Joshua Tieman, Azure offers numerous surgical and cosmetic services to patients “who have experienced breast cancer or traumatic injuries and those who are looking to make a personal change.”
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