How four area restaurants are coping with pandemic slowdown
Eateries are digging deep and thinking creatively to try to hang on. IBJ looks at the strategies employed by Beholder, Shapiro’s Delicatessen, Gomez BBQ and Azzip Pizza.
Restaurants
Articles
Tinker Street owner puts closed restaurant up for sale
Owner Tom Main, 63, said he contacted a broker to put the business on the market. The asking price is $1.2 million, which includes both the business and the 900-square-foot building it occupies in Herron-Morton Place.
Slippery Noodle Inn owner Hal Yeagy Jr. dies
Yeagy had owned the establishment since 1985, building it into a renowned spot for live blues music.
Museums see holiday shopping event as lifeline
The annual Museum Store Sunday event, to be held on Nov. 29, is expected to have extra impact this year because many other sources of museum revenue, including admissions and special events, have been disrupted due to the pandemic.
Lebanon’s first production brewery taking shape in 124-year-old building
Also, in the latest North of 96th roundup, a barber shop and wellness lounge is planning its grand opening. Meanwhile, a Carmel theater has reopened and a Zionsville tea room is closing.
Steak n Shake closes 13 more restaurants amid slowing customer traffic
Steak n Shake revenue plummeted to $78.8 million in the third quarter, down from $141.3 million a year ago.
Italian market and restaurant Catello’s coming to Indy’s north side
Owner Catello Avagnale, who moved to the area from his native Italy in 2014, will operate both a restaurant and a market in an 8,400-square-foot space in the Clearwater Springs shopping center on East 82nd Street.
Shake Shack plans to open downtown location in 2021
The fast-casual burger chain has secured a third Indy-area location, this one on the first floor of a ritzy downtown apartment building nearing completion by the Mass Ave Cultural District.
Illinois governor bans indoor dining in Chicago as virus cases surge
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she isn’t sure the governor’s new restrictions are targeting the right people and worries that they will adversely affect the city’s economy.
Huse Culinary closing book on downtown Burger Study due to pandemic
Launched in 2017, Burger Study was designed to attract downtown office workers, convention attendees and spectators for sporting events and concerts. All of those populations have been cut thin by the pandemic.
Hickory Hillz BBQ opening in downtown Franklin
It will be the second restaurant for the business that started in Edinburgh in 2005. Also this week: Guardian RV Storage, Sun King, Big Woods, Liftoff Creamery and Athletic Annex.
IBJ Podcast: ‘Tumultuous.’ That’s how restaurateur Eddie Sahm describes surviving the pandemic.
There’s one thing Eddie is certain about: Without more government assistance, a large percentage of local restaurants will close. And that, he said, won’t be good for the community.
Total Wine & More liquor superstore to open in Nora
The 86th Street store, which is set to open next month, will be the first in Indiana for the Maryland-based chain. Also this week: Nada and Downtown Arts Market.
After Biglari unleashes venom on Cracker Barrel, CEO fires back
Biglari Holdings’ Sardar Biglari is pushing for reforms at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store even as Biglari restaurant Steak n Shake teeters.
Chick-fil-A planning new downtown restaurant
The new Chick-fil-A will occupy the cellar and ground floor of 10 E. Washington St., which has been vacant since the menswear chain Jos. A. Bank closed its store there in 2017. Also this week: The Exchange Whiskey Bar and Dave & Buster’s.
City launches $11 million grant fund for hospitality industry
The program, called the Hospitality Establishment Lifeline Program, will provide grants to Marion County bars, restaurants and live entertainment venues that pay food and beverage taxes.
New art and design shop to serve in-person, online customers
Up to now, the business has primarily served architects and designers in bigger markets. Also this week: Lou Malnati’s, Dave & Busters, Godiva Chocolatier, Nesso, Jiffy Lube.
Cold weather means new challenges for struggling restaurants
Restaurants are trying to figure out how to extend the outdoor dining season using space heaters, tents, temporary igloos and even blankets. Heat lamps are already in short supply.
Sahm’s Restaurant Group closing downtown cafeteria, tavern
Ed Sahm, the restaurant group’s founder and owner, said the pandemic-related exodus of downtown office workers meant the two locations are no longer financially viable.
Cracker Barrel launches ‘ghost kitchen’ test pilot in Indianapolis
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. is converting one of its Indianapolis restaurants into a food-preparation-only location as a way for the company to experiment with the emerging “ghost kitchen” trend.