Restaurant and bar to open in Bates-Hendricks

A family-friendly restaurant and bar called 1718 is set to open next month in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood south of downtown.

The establishment takes its name from its address—1718 S. East St., which is just south of Minnesota Street. Built in 1900, the 1,298-square-foot structure previously served as a single-family house.

Renovations are taking place now, and proprietor Chad Johnson said he’s aiming to open 1718 next month.

The deli-style menu will include both hot and cold sandwiches along with soups, salads and side dishes. The establishment will also serve beer, wine and liquor.

“The idea will be to be a reliable, great lunch option,” Johnson said. The restaurant will offer the same menu at dinnertime.

The dining room will occupy the first floor, with the second floor devoted to office space and future expansion as a small-group meeting room, Johnson said. 1718 will also offer outdoor seating on a rear patio.

Johnson, who moved to Bates Hendricks with wife Tiffany Obrecht-Johnson in 2016, said the opportunity to run a restaurant appealed to him for a couple of reasons.

He saw a business opportunity in the fact that Bates-Hendricks is a busy neighborhood with a growing number of young families, yet it has very few restaurants. Johnson also relished the chance to get back into the hospitality business. He most recently worked in construction but earlier in his career spent about a decade in food service, including a stint at the Rathskeller restaurant near Massachusetts Avenue.

The East Street building’s owners are Mike and Gabby Sherfick of Noblesville, who have purchased and redeveloped several residential and commercial properties in Bates-Hendricks. According to public records, the Sherficks bought 1718 S. East St. in April for $125,000.

The two couples met each other through Obrecht-Johnson’s business, Blank Page Marketing. That business is next door at 1720 S. East St., in a building also owned by the Sherficks.

In other news this week:

— Kilroy’s Bar N’ Grill has closed its downtown location at 201 S. Meridian St. for a couple of weeks while it deals with repairs.

Kilroy’s closed Wednesday and will remain closed for the next two to four weeks while it does flooring repairs, said Managing Partner Chris Burton. Kilroy’s other location, at 831 Broad Ripple Ave., will remain open.

Kilroy’s opened downtown in 2009. Its Broad Ripple site, at 831 Broad Ripple Ave., opened in 2012. The original Kilroy’s is in Bloomington, but it has different ownership than the Indianapolis sites, Burton said.

— The Small Mall, which sells furniture, art and home items at 5050 E. 62^nd St., will close at the end of this month.

Owner Elizabeth Dillon opened The Small Mall in 2011 as a fine furniture resale shop. Over time, she invited others to rent booth space in the 7,000-square-foot facility. Dillon said her lease is up at the end of the month, and rather than renewing she decided it’s time to retire. “It was just an opportunity to face time and say, ‘How many more years do you want to do this, or do you want to try some new things?’”

Dillon said she and all the other Small Mall vendors are holding liquidation sales to get rid of their inventory by month’s end.

— A meditation studio called Urban Meditation is coming to 8487 Union Chapel Road in the Fashion Mall Commons shopping center near the Fashion Mall at Keystone.

Business owner Tina Hallett and meditation instructor Tanya Stevens are teaming up on the venture, which will offer meditation classes, energy healing, chakra balancing and a small retail area within the 1,500-square-foot space.

The studio, which aims to open by December, will offer both meditation classes and open studio times where clients can drop in to meditate on their own. Clients can purchase monthly memberships or pay per visit. The meditation space will feature soothing music, blankets, pillows and eye masks clients can use on site.

It’s not a fitness center, Stevens said, but the concept is similar—offer a place people can visit regularly to improve their health. “We’re teaching them how to work out their minds and their emotional feelings.”

— Rebar Indy, which reopened under new ownership earlier this year, has closed again.

Four business partners, including orthopedic surgeon Jason Watters, opened Rebar in the summer of 2016. The establishment, at 20 N. Delaware St., closed in January and reopened the following month under the ownership of Chef Charles Mereday.

Mereday said he closed Rebar at the end of June because he couldn’t attract enough business to make the spot viable. On weekend nights and during special events downtown ReBar was busy, Mereday said, but it struggled to find customers at other times.

“It’s a tough location. There was no weekday volume there,” Mereday told IBJ. “It always ended up being a loss.”

Watters is also the manager of a partnership that owns the building. He did not return a phone call seeking comment on future plans for the space.