Crust pizzeria in Carmel to become Fat Dan’s Deli

The eatery now operating as Crust Pizzeria Napoletana, at 840 W. Main St. in Carmel, has a new owner who plans to turn the space into a Fat Dan’s Deli over the next few weeks.

Crust’s new owner is Dan Jarman, who currently has two Fat Dan’s: one at 5410 N. College Ave., south of Broad Ripple, and another at 410 E. Michigan St., just east of Mass Ave. 

Jarman acquired Crust on Feb. 18.

Crust’s former owners, Dustin and Azin Brown, opened the restaurant in 2016. A previous iteration of the restaurant had been located elsewhere in Carmel (12505 Old Meridian St.) under the ownership of Mohey Osman.

For the first month, Jarman kept the restaurant open as Crust, with a pared-down version its previous menu. He’s just getting to know the Carmel market, he said, and this was the first time he’d taken over an existing restaurant rather than starting from scratch. So he didn’t want to rush into major changes right away.

“I wanted to get a feel of the staff, get a feel of the clientele, be visible, be accessible to talk to people,” Jarman said.

Crust has been closed this week for transitional work, including reconfiguring the kitchen. The restaurant reopens as Crust at 11 a.m. Friday.

Another brief shutdown will take place soon, Jarman said. When the restaurant reopens then, it will be as Fat Dan’s—a Chicago-style deli that serves a variety of burgers, hot dogs, deli sandwiches and smoked meats. 

But the eatery will keep its pizza ovens and will include on its menu a few items like pizza, calzones and salads that aren’t available at the other Fat Dan’s sites.

Jarman, a Chicago Cubs fan, said he is hoping to have the Carmel spot open as Fat Dan’s by April 9—the date of the Cubs’ first home baseball game of the season. (They’ll host the Pittsburgh Pirates.)

In a separate project, Jarman is working to open a retro-themed steakhouse, Geraldine’s Supper Club and Lounge, at 1101 English Ave. in Fountain Square. Jarman said that restaurant will be “a throwback to what steakhouses used to be,” featuring a simple menu, classic cocktails and live jazz every evening. Jarman is targeting an April opening for Geraldine’s.

A few other unrelated news items to round out this week’s Property Lines offerings:

—The Fashion Mall at Keystone has picked up a couple of new tenants: jewelry/accessories store Alex and Ani and women’s boutique AH Collection. 

Alex and Ani will host its grand opening on Friday. This will be the first Indiana store for the Rhode Island-based company, which sells what it describes as “meaningful, eco-conscious jewelry and accessories.”

AH Collection’s Fashion Mall store opened on March 15. This location will replace the Hamilton Town Center store, which closes March 28, according to AH Collection’s Facebook page.

AH Collection also has a store at 14511 Clay Terrace Blvd. in Carmel.

—Old Navy will open a 12,751-square-foot store at Edinburgh Premium Outlets in October, Simon Property Group has announced.

Indianapolis-based Simon owns the Edinburgh outlet mall, which is located off Interstate 65 in Edinburgh, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.

—Dunkin Donuts is getting close to opening a brand-new location at the corner of Emerson Avenue and Stop 11 Road on the south side of Indianapolis.

A company representative said the shop should open in early April, although an exact date hasn’t yet been set.

The standalone shop sits at the northwest corner of the intersection, diagonally across from the Franciscan Health hospital that occupies the southeast corner of that intersection.