America’s Floor Source making crosstown move, adding showroom

Property Lines took a hiatus last week for Thanksgiving, which means we’re overstuffed with news this week. Let’s dig in.

Columbus, Ohio-based America’s Floor Source, which entered the Indianapolis market in 2010, is experiencing growing pains that it will address early next year by moving to a much larger facility on the opposite side of the city and adding a showroom.

The company recently bought a 98,000-square-foot building at 7676 Zionsville Road previously occupied by commercial furniture maker Facility Concepts Inc. After a $6 million investment to buy and renovate the building, America’s Floor Source plans to be up and running in its new space on March 1.

“That’s a sizeable investment for us. That’s how much we believe in that city,” founder and CEO Jason Goldberg told IBJ. “All phases of our business are growing, and we do very well in that market.”

Goldberg said the company has run out of room at its current site, a 51,000-square-foot leased space at 9228 E. 33rd St., in the Hunter Creek Business Park on the east side. 

America’s Floor Source focuses on five markets: residential new construction; apartment replacements; commercial projects; wholesale sales to members of the construction trade; and retail sales to homeowners. Moving to the Zionsville Road site should create a significant bump in retail sales, Goldberg said, because the space will include a 27,000-square-foot showroom—something the 33rd Street facility lacks. 

The new space will also have an outlet/clearance center, expanded office space and room to expand the facility by another 60,000 square feet as needed.

Moving into a larger space will also help cement Indianapolis’ position within the growing company, Goldberg said. Its Columbus headquarters includes 125,000 square feet spread across three buildings on 10 acres, and that site has run out of space. Because the Zionsville Road site has plenty of room for expansion, Goldberg said, “we look at Indy as our second headquarters as we continue to grow.”

America’s Floor Source has 215 employees, including 38 in Indianapolis. It also operates in Louisville and is expanding to Cincinnati by Feb. 1.

In other news this week:

— Ash & Elm Cider Co., whose production facility and tasting room is in a 7,500-square-foot space in the Neidhammer building at 2104 E. Washington St., plans to move to a larger space about half a mile west in the former Ford manufacturing facility at 1301 E. Washington St., in early 2020.

TWG Development Inc. bought the former auto plant early last year and is turning it into a mixed-use development with apartments, office and retail space.

“More space = more room to take care of our customers and bring more folks into our warm and cider-y embrace,” Ash & Elm posted on its Facebook page on Thursday. The husband/wife team of Aaron and Andrea Homoya opened Ash & Elm in June 2016.

— A new independent bookstore, Red Dog Books, opened last week at 1001 N. State Road 135 in Greenwood, just south of County Line Road. The 8,000-square-foot store buys and sells new and used books, records, magazines, journals, calendars and other items. 

“Once we get settled in, we plan to host a wide array of events ranging from book readings by local authors, having professional impersonators that dress like historical figures, book clubs, and gaming nights for both role-players and families,” store manager William Driver told IBJ. Wallace Bryant is the shop’s owner.

— Miracle on South Street, a holiday-themed pop-up bar, is open through Christmas Eve at The Alexander hotel downtown, 333 S. Delaware St. It’s a licensed concept that’s making its first appearance in Indianapolis this year, said Lael Ransone, manager of the hotel’s bar, Plat 99.

Miracle on South Street, a 21-and-older establishment, sits outside the hotel in a heated tent decorated by Accent Indy. The bar features a limited food menu along with a selection of seasonal cocktails with names such as the Snowball Old-Fashioned (butterscotch rye, spiced brown sugar, wormwood bitters and orange zest), the Nice Shot (rum, peppermint tea, chocolate) and the Naughty Shot (bourbon and cinnamon).

Ransone said The Alexander already plans to bring Miracle on South Street back for 2019 and beyond. “Our plan is to do it annually, and hopefully find ways to grow it,” he said. “When you get something new, it’s fun to throw around ideas.”

— A new eatery, Moar Tea and Poke, has opened at 448 Massachusetts Ave., in the space formerly occupied by Hoaglin To Go Café & Market. Its grand opening runs Dec. 3-16. The restaurant sells poke (pronounced po-kay), which is Hawaiian-style sushi—sushi ingredients served in a bowl. It also sells fruit teas and bubble tea—a cold drink that includes tapioca “bubbles” with flavorings inside of them.

Owners are John Dong, who will run the operation; and Alex Yeung, who owns three Japanese hibachi restaurants in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

— Tried & True Alehouse plans to open a second location in January, in the River Ridge Crossing shopping center at 4825 E. 96th St. Owners John and Laura Gladish opened their original location in Greenwood in January 2017, at 2800 S. State Road 135.

The 7,800-square-foot 96th Street space was previously occupied by the Moon Dog Tavern. 

— The former Sam’s Club at 3015 W. 86th St. will soon be home to a new big-box retailer. Home furnishings store At Home plans to open there on Feb. 20, the company told IBJ. Sam’s Club, closed in January. At Home, a Plano, Texas-based home décor store, has three central Indiana locations: 4641 Lafayette Road on the northwest side, 7667 Shelby St. on the south side, and 301 Noble Creek Drive in Noblesville.

— Calico, a home décor and fabric shop at 5128 E. 82nd St., plans to remodel its showroom. Work is expected to begin in mid-December and continue through the end of February, store manager Jennie Hanson-Slaff told IBJ. 

Post-remodeling, the showroom will include more samples and displays of the store’s custom fabrics, including furniture, drapery, pillows, bedding and upholstery. The store will also expand its selection of window shades and blinds. Hanson-Slaff’s mother, Barbara Hanson, is the store’s owner.

— Discount Tire has opened a new store at 10032 Pendleton Pike, near Fort Harrison State Park on the northeast side. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based tire and wheel retailer has more than a dozen area stores spread among Indianapolis, Avon, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Plainfield.

— The former Finish Line store at Greenwood Park Mall has reopened as JD Sports. The 10,536-square-foot store closed temporarily in September for the JD Sports conversion before reopening this month. JD Sports, a British sportswear and apparel chain, acquired Finish Line in June for $558 million in cash. Shortly after that, J.D. Sports announced it would convert about 50 Finish Line stores to JD Sports while deciding whether to convert the entire 555-store chain to its brand.