Indianapolis’ Flat 12 Bierwerks unveils new family-friendly space

The near-east-side brewery Flat 12 Bierwerks, which was formerly for patrons age 21 and older, has just converted one of its rooms to an all-ages space, following a trend among local brewers.

Flat 12, at 414 Dorman St., removed the bar from its former growler room, converting that room into an all-ages space for its in-house restaurant, Hoagies & Hops.

“People can bring their kids in to come in and eat now,” said Valerie Green, Flat 12’s marketing and events director.

In adding an all-ages area, Green said, Flat 12 aims to appeal to a wider range of customers. “You’re turning away business if you’re not going to allow families to come in and enjoy your product.”

Flat 12 made some other changes during the renovation period, which began May 20. It remodeled its taproom, added more seating, refreshed its décor and updated its patio and beer garden with new landscaping and outdoor games. 

Bidmead & Younger Construction did the renovations. Local designer Jennifer Barratt and her assistant, Stephen Garstang, handled the décor.

To celebrate its new look, Flat 12 will have a “grand reopening” celebration June 22 with 10 percent off beer, merchandise and restaurant menu items all day. Local band The Innocent Boys will perform between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Flat 12, which opened as a startup in 2011, also has a taproom in Jeffersonville. 

Andy Teed purchased the Indianapolis location in 2016. Sean O’Conner, one of three cofounders of Flat 12, now owns the Jeffersonville taproom.

Flat 12 isn't the only local brewery adding a family-friendly component to its operations.

This week, Speedway-based Daredevil Brewing Co. announced it plans to open a second location this fall, inside the Ironworks Hotel Indy at 2721 E. 86th St. Unlike Daredevil in Speedway , which is for ages 21 and up, the new spot—to be called Daredevil Hall—will include a family-friendly restaurant in partnership with restaurateur and chef Neal Brown.

And, in March, Sun King Brewery announced it had transformed its downtown tap room into an all-ages space. 

“Many members of the Sun King Crew have families and want the ability to gather with friends in order to share the fruits of their labor, plus a lot of our earliest adopters were young people who have gone on to start families and could no longer visit our Indianapolis Tap Room,” Sun King said in a March 5 blog post on its website. 

Sun King’s Fishers tap room, which opened in 2015, has a family-friendly space; its Carmel distillery and tap room, which is set to open this summer, will also be family-friendly.

In other news:

— Steve Campbell is planning to open a new restaurant, Campbell’s Highland Grill, at 1011 N. Indiana 135 in Greenwood. The establishment will serve a mix of classic Scottish food and American food and will air sports—with a focus on soccer—on numerous televisions.
Campbell told IBJ on Thursday that he was awaiting state approval to begin construction. Construction should take about two-and-a-half months, Campbell said, and the establishment’s targeted opening date is Sept. 1.

The restaurant had originally been planned as part of a new commercial development by Mike Duke a few miles south in Bargersville, at the northwest corner of Indiana 135 and Whiteland Road. In April, Campbell told the Franklin-based Daily Journal newspaper that it was “a mutual decision to end the restaurant project at the Bargersville location and move north to Greenwood.”

— Camp Bow Wow, a doggie day care and boarding facility, will open a second area location next month. The facility, at 5311 Commerce Circle in Southport, will include 10,320 under roof plus a 4,800-square-foot outdoor play area with pools and play equipment.

Camp Bow Wow, whose local franchisee is Tom Hulbert, also has a location at 10830 Pendleton Pike, near Fort Harrison State Park in Lawrence. That site opened in 2015. Based in Westminster, Colorado, Camp Bow Wow started in Denver in 2000. The company, now known as Camp Bow Wow Franchising Inc., was acquired by the animal hospital chain VCA Inc. in 2014. It now has more than 140 locations and is in growth mode, with another 40 or so in the process of opening.

— Menswear shop Untuckit opens its store today at the Fashion Mall at Keystone. Untuckit is a New York City-based retailer that got its start online and now has about 30 brick-and-mortar stores around the U.S. The Keystone location is Untuckit’s first Indiana store. IBJ reported in March that Untuckit was planning a store at the mall but hadn't set an opening date. 

— The quick-serve Mexican chain Qdoba will soon open two new locations in the Indianapolis area. A Brownsburg store, at 890 N. Green St., is scheduled to open Aug. 6 and a Whitestown location, at 6196 Whitestown Parkway, is scheduled for an Aug. 20 opening.

— Tandoor & Tikka, which bills itself as a “modern Indian eatery,” opened June 14 at 805 W. 10th St. near IUPUI.