Roundup: Penn & Beech Candle Co. expands to Carmel

Penn & Beech Candle Co. is opening its second area store in Carmel’s Midtown.

The Indianapolis-based company that specializes in soy candles and custom fragrances is preparing to open a roughly 2,400-square-foot location at 145 Elm St., Suite 150.

The business was started by sisters Brianna Doles and Lacey Doles, who began by hand pouring small batches of candles in their homes on Pennsylvania and Beech streets, which inspired the company name.

In 2018, the sisters opened their first brick-and-mortar store at 747 College Ave., where customers can concoct and pour their own candles or craft their own room spray, body spray, diffuser or wax tarts.

Customers can choose up to three fragrance oils from an assortment of more than 100. The cost starts at $20.

The downtown store is about 1,200 square feet—half the size of what the Midtown store will be.

Seth Doles, a co-owner of the business, said the bigger space will allow Penn & Beech to offer a separate room for private events. It also allows for the business to establish a lounge, where customers can enjoy beer or wine while they wait for their candles to set.

The downtown location can be booked for private events and offers beer and wine, but Doles said the space can get crowded quickly with walk-ins, reservations and private events.

He said the company also anticipated expanding beyond downtown and heard from many customers that they wanted to see a store in the northern suburbs.

The owners began looking in Carmel for a store front and decided Midtown would be the perfect place to open. Penn & Beech will fill the only retail space available in Midtown’s main parking garage.

“We wanted to be in an up and coming part of the city,” Doles said.

Doles said the new store—which is expected to open this fall—will also offer outdoor seating along Midtown Plaza.

In other retail-related news North of 96^th Street:

— Le Peep is opening in Whitestown. The breakfast and brunch restaurant will open at 7101 Whitestown Parkway in the Maple Grove Retail District this fall. The Whitestown restaurant will be the eighth location in Indiana. The nearest is in Zionsville at 4400 Weston Pointe Drive, which opened in 2018.

— Also in Whitestown, Gap Inc. is opening an Old Navy in the Shoppes at Whitestown retail development. The store is expected to open sometime next year. The nearest Old Navy to Whitestown is in the Traders Point shopping center on 86^th Street in Indianapolis.

— Noblesville-based Clancy’s Inc. opened its newest restaurant last week in Westfield. Grindstone on the Monon opened at 17470 Wheeler Road. IBJ first reported on this location in April.

— A Culver’s will open in Lebanon by the end of the year. The Wisconsin-based restaurant will open at 2454 N. Lebanon St. Franchisee Jeff Meyer operates nine other Culver’s in central Indiana and is eyeing sites in Whitestown, Carmel and Broad Ripple.

— The Indiana Design Center in Carmel will add three showrooms this fall: window and door maker Lorenzo Finestre, furniture maker MNK Furniture and floral design business Rusted Window. The Indiana Design Center is an 82,000-square-foot-facility that showcases more than a dozen design professionals, artists and resources for residential and commercial interiors.

— Chick-fil-A opens Sept. 19 at 6240 Whitestown Parkway in Whitestown. The restaurant has been under construction for several months.

— PetPeople, a pet supplies store, will open in The Yard at Fishers District. The company leased 3,710 square feet of retail space at 9719 E. 116^th St.

— Chicago’s Pizza with a Twist will open in the Centre North retail development at 8650 E. 96^th St. in Fishers. The pizza eatery leased 2,476 square feet of retail space from owner Centre North LLC. Chicago’s Pizza with a Twist operates two Indiana restaurants, one in Greenwood and the other in Plainfield.