ROUNDUP: CVS to close two Indianapolis stores

CVS plans to close two of its Indianapolis stores next month—its 105 E. Ohio St. location in the BMO Plaza building downtown, and its 111 W. 38^th St. location at the corner of Illinois and 38^th streets.

CVS told IBJ that its 38^th Street store will close Jan. 2 and its Ohio Street location will close Jan. 30. The real estate firm CBRE has already begun marketing the Ohio Street space, which occupies 10,555 square feet on the BMO Plaza building’s first floor.

Amy Lanctot Thibault, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island-based chain, said the company decided to close the stores based on their financial performance.

“The closure of these stores is not a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the store employees,” Thibault said in an email. “In fact, every effort will be made to help place them into comparable roles at other CVS Pharmacy locations nearby.”

In its third-quarter financial report last month, CVS said it planned to close a total of 22 “underperforming” stores during the first quarter of 2020.

Prescriptions held at the 38^th Street store will transfer to CVS’ 1545 N. Meridian St. location. Prescriptions at the Ohio Street store will transfer to CVS’ new CityWay store at 336 S. Delaware St.

In other news this week:

— The Bottleworks District at 850 Massachusetts Ave. has announced two additional tenants for its Garage Food Hall.

Venezuelan restaurant Azucar Morena and Chicago-based ramen spot Furious Spoon will join 10 other confirmed tenants at the food hall, which is set to open in late summer 2020. The food hall will be part of the first phase of the $300 million, 12-acre mixed-use development.

Azucar Morena is owned by Andreina Paredes Angulo, who moved to Indianapolis from her native Venezuela nearly four years ago. Furious Spoon’s cofounders, Shin Thompson and Anshul Mangal, opened their first restaurant in 2015 and they now have seven Chicago-area locations. Indianapolis will be their first site outside the Chicago metro area.

The food hall’s other confirmed tenants include Blu Point Oyster House & Bar, La Chinita Poblana, Clancy’s, Daredevil Brewery, Hard Truth Distillery, J’s Lobster & Fish Market, Lick Ice Cream, Poke Guru, Simply Divine Cupcakes, and Tartine Station.

— A new Asian fusion restaurant, Seraphim Asian Grill, is in the works for 921 Broad Ripple Ave. Co-owners are Richard Blanke, a long-time chef, and Andy Hsu, who has a background in restaurants and hospitality.

Blanke said the restaurant, which will offer house-made noodles, charcoal-grilled meats and seafood and cuisine from Japan, Korea, Thailand and other countries, should open in late January or early February.

Seraphim takes the space previously occupied by Crab General, which closed a couple of months ago.

— CityWay Animal Clinics will open its fourth local veterinary clinic at 5541 E. Washington St. in Irvington in mid-2020. The site formerly housed Geneva Hair Studio, which closed in July.

CityWay Animal Clinics opened its first veterinary office in 2012 at 625 N. East Street, just off Massachusetts Avenue. The company opened clinics in Fountain Square in 2015 and Fall Creek Place in 2018. It also operates Furr: Pet Spa and Wellness Clinic, which opened in 2014 at 909 N. East St.

— Vasa Fitness plans to open a 60,000-square-foot fitness club in a former Marsh Supermarket at 6965 W. 38^th St. in the fall of 2020. This will be Vasa’s second Indianapolis club, and its third in Indiana. All three are in repurposed grocery store sites. Vasa has dual headquarters: Orem, Utah and Denver.

The Vasa club at 5325 E. Thompson Road, a former Kroger, will have its grand opening on Dec. 21. The company’s gym in Lafayette, in a former Marsh store at 3825 South St., will have its grand opening Dec. 28.

Vasa operates 40 fitness clubs in Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arizona, with five more opening soon, including the Indianapolis and Lafayette sites. IBJ first reported on Vasa’s Indiana plans in June.

— Kroger held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday to celebrate the completion of a $2.1 million renovation of its 2200 Independence Drive store, just west of U.S. 31 in Greenwood. The renovations included updates to the store’s produce department, bakery, deli and pharmacy; an expanded area for grocery pickup customers; and more.

— The Donut Experiment at Glendale Town Center, 6159 N. Keystone Ave., appears to have closed after a brief run. The franchised location, operated by franchisee Tracy Lee, opened in September 2018. IBJ was unable to reach Lee this week for details on the closure. But a phone call to the store Wednesday afternoon went unanswered, and the store’s Facebook page identifies the location as permanently closed.

Finally, we have three separate coffee shop openings to report:

— Foundation Coffee Co. has opened at 4565 Marcy Lane, which is at the intersection of Marcy Lane and East 46th Street between Keystone and College avenues.

The establishment, which offers coffee, lunch items and desserts, occupies a portion of a newly renovated building that also serves as The Patachou Foundation’s headquarters. IBJ first reported on the foundation’s plans in March.

— FUZION by Coffee Zon opened Dec. 5 in the lobby of the Market Tower building at the northeast corner of Market and Illinois streets.

Coffee Zon baristas offer locally roasted coffee beans brewed using a variety of methods, including drip, pourover, espresso and others.  The Coffee Zon brand was developed by Carmel-based CC Holdings Restaurant Group.

— Prufrock Coffee Co. is now open at 5168 N. College Ave. The establishment is in a space formerly occupied by Annabelle’s Garden to the City, a specialty grocery store and juice bar.