Roundup: Pearl Street, Five Guys, Casey’s General Stores, Books & Brews and more

As it happens, everything in this week’s Property Lines is food/beverage related. Hope you brought an appetite for news.

First up is Pearl Street Pizzeria and Pub, which has opened a second location at 10462 Olio Road in Fishers, just north of East 104th Street. The original eatery, which opened in October 2010 at 65 E. Pearl Street, is named after its unassuming downtown Indianapolis location—a one-block stretch of thoroughfare between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets that feels more like an alley than a street.

The Fishers location, which opened on Monday, will retain some features from the original restaurant—including the Pearl Street name—in a larger and more visible location.“We will have 20 beers on tap to continue our reputation for great local beer variety,” said Courtney Andrus, who owns both locations along with husband Dave.

Located on the end space of a small strip mall, the Fishers Pearl Street has two outdoor patio seating areas. Indoors, Courtney Andrus said, the restaurant has a bar, family dining area and a separate 50- to 60-seat dining room. All told, she said, the Fishers space offers about twice the space and seating as the original location.

Moving on to the next item: Casey’s General Stores, an Iowa-based convenience chain known for its fresh-made pizzas, sandwiches and donuts, is preparing to open its very first Indianapolis store. The company is building a 4,500-square-foot store at 8516 Madison Ave., at the intersection with Stop 12 Road on the city’s south side. The store is expected to open in July. 

More stores might follow, said Vice President of Marketing Mike Richardson. “We have reviewed and researched multiple areas in and around the Indianapolis market and would like to continue to expand our footprint and brand in that area.”

Casey's arrival here is noteworthy because the chain's main focus is on very small markets. More than half of its stores are in communities with a population of 5,000 or less. In fact, only 18 percent of Casey’s 2,000 stores are in places with a population of 20,000 or more. Casey’s existing Central Indiana stores are all in smaller towns: Brownsburg, Franklin, Greenfield and Martinsville, among others. 

“We still continue to focus on the smaller communities, however we do look at all opportunities,” Richardson told IBJ. “This site fits in with our overall strategy and it compares to other locations that we have in larger metropolitan areas,” including Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and Minneapolis. 

Also this week:

— Burger-and-fries chain Five Guys is getting very close to opening its newest Indianapolis location, at 48 E. Washington St. in the former Pie Five spot downtown. A window sign now reveals the restaurant's full phone number (317-220-8632), which had been partially obscured until now. An employee who answered the phone at the location Thursday morning said Five Guys expects to open its doors to customers within the next few days. 

— Books & Brews Used Bookstore and Taproom will open its newest location this summer at 643 Mass Ave. Franchisees are Michael Foster and Dereck Vogler. Books & Brews was launched by Jason Wuerful in March 2014, and in February of this year he registered with the state of Indiana to franchise the concept. Books & Brews has locations on the northeast side of Indianapolis as well as in Carmel,  Zionsville, Brownsburg and Muncie. Locations in Speedway and south-side Indianapolis near the University of Indianapolis are also in the works. 

— A former Marsh Supermarkets store at 10679 N. Michigan Road, Zionsville, is set to reopen as a Kroger. Kroger will have a ribbon-cutting at the store Wednesday morning. The North Michigan Road store was one of the 11 that Cincinnati-based Kroger purchased from now-defunct Marsh Supermarkets. Marsh declared bankruptcy in May 2017 and went out of business two months later.

— Takeout-only Asian eatery Black Eye opened Tuesday at 1006 Virginia Ave. in Fountain Square. Owners are the husband-and-wife team Kari Nickander and Adam Perry, who also own General American Donut Co. at 827 S. East St.