Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis-area restaurants that opened and closed in July
August’s arrival marks the end of summer vacation and the start of a new school year. The ever-churning cycle of endings and beginnings is nothing new to Indy’s dining scene, which welcomed a fresh crop of eateries while saying good-bye to others last month.
For the third consecutive month, a beloved neighborhood spot said farewell after a 20-plus-year run. Meanwhile, regional chains expanded throughout the Circle City and the North Perry neighborhood received an infusion of Filipino flavor. Here are the restaurants that came and went in July — plus one to kick off August.
Restaurants that opened in July
Mambo’s Cheesesteak Grill, Salesforce Tower
111 Monument Circle Suite 120, mamboscheesesteakgrill.com, opened July 9
While the closure of City Market shuttered the original Mambo’s, the cheesesteak outfit has maintained booths at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and The AMP at 16 Tech. Last week it opened a new brick-and-mortar location in Salesforce Tower. Situated next to the recently closed Yolk location, Mambo’s brings its renowned cheesesteaks and other sandwiches to the corner of Pennsylvania and Ohio streets.
His Place Eatery
1411 W. 86th St., (317) 7990-3406, hisplaceeatery.com, opened July 10
The popular Arlington Woods soul food spot opened its second location at the corner of Ditch Road and West 86th Street in St. Vincent-Greenbriar. The menu at His Place is stuffed with smoked meats, fried fish and classic comfort foods like macaroni and cheese, candied yams and mashed potatoes.
Kyuramen x TBaar Mass Ave
530 Massachusetts Ave., (317) 961-8888, kyuramen.com, opened July 10
Kyuramen, a New York-based chain with nearly 40 locations nationally, opened its first Indiana restaurant on Mass Ave. The Japanese-American eatery sells ramen, omurice and tempura among other Asian-inspired dishes. Joining Kyruamen in the space is TBaar, a bubble tea chain with over 40 United States locations.
Yollie’s Filipino American Kitchen
4141 S. East St., (317) 455-5123, yolliekitchen.com, opened July 23
The flagship restaurant of Indianapolis’ Philippine Cultural Community Center, Yollie’s brings traditional Filipino flavors to the Circle City. Dishes like tangy chicken adobo, peanut butter-stewed kare kare and banana blossoms in coconut milk offer familiar flavors to Hoosier Filipinos and a chance for others try something new.
Wing Zone on Keystone
5527 N. Keystone Ave., (317) 419-3604, wingzone.com, opened July 24
The Gainesville, Florida-based chicken joint opened its first Indiana location on Keystone Avenue in Millersville. Wing Zone, which sells fried chicken, sandwiches and salads in addition to wings, has nearly 30 locations nationwide.
Java House, Simon Building
225 W. Washington St., javahouse.com, opened July 25
The Carmel-based coffee shop’s twelfth café opened on the ground floor of the Simon Building. Java House offers a variety of sweet signature lattes alongside juice, lemonade, tea, black coffee and select food items.
More coverage: Java House bringing another coffee shop to downtown Indianapolis
California Burger
2831 E. 38th St., (317) 426-3021, californiaburgerinc.com
Speedway-based California Burger’s third location opened in the Meadows neighborhood Aug. 1, serving free ice cream cones for its first six hours of operation. The smashed-patty purveyor also has a location in Castleton, which opened in summer 2021.
Restaurants that closed in July
MOTW Coffee Castleton
6706 E. 82nd St., closed early July
Carmel-based MOTW (Muslims of the World) Coffee announced the closure of its Castleton location with a note posted to the shop’s front door. The note from the MOTW staff attributed the closure to the end of the store’s lease and said the location would move to Illinois. On June 23, MOTW announced on Facebook the opening of its Naperville, Illinois location, the chain’s second in the Prairie State. MOTW still has three Indiana locations: Eagledale, Fishers and Carmel.
Rene’s Bakery
6524 Cornell Ave, closed July 14
After more than 20 years in Broad Ripple, this beloved bakery announced it “will most likely be closed indefinitely” amid owner Albert Rene Trevino’s ongoing health concerns. Rene’s opened on Cornell Avenue in 2004 and sold a variety of pastries while amassing a loyal customer base throughout its neighborhood and beyond. That community showed out in full force when Trevino’s daughter Olivia launched a GoFundMe to help pay for her father’s medical bills — the fundraiser has netted more than $85,000.
Full story: Rene’s Bakery ‘most likely’ closed after 20 years
Did we miss an opening or closing in your neighborhood? Contactdining reporter Bradley Hohulin at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @bradleyhohulin.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis-area restaurants that opened and closed in July 2024
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis will challenge 60 degrees multiple times to close this week. How frequent are 60-degree days in the month of January?
Over the last 5 years, Indianapolis has hit 60 degrees in January only twice. Bloomington did it four times in this same stretch.
Our last time hitting the 60-degree threshold in this month was in January 2023 in Indy. Temperature records for the city have been kept since 1872. On average, Indianapolis has around one day of making it to 60 degrees in January since record keeping began.
1880 is the year with the most January 60 degrees or higher days on record at 8 days. In 2017, Indianapolis had 4 days make it to the threshold. This is the last time we had multiple days in the 60s in January.
For the latest 7-day forecast, visit our weather blog by clicking here.
Indianapolis, IN
Between Springfield And Indianapolis Is Illinois’ Cozy City With A Buzzing Main Street – Islands
Resting between the United States’s pulsing coasts and among its inland cities-du-jour (lookin’ at you, Austin, Texas), lies an embarrassment of bite-sized riches. Small, intimate locales that offer a counterweight to New York City’s megawatt pulse, or San Francisco’s erudite cool. Places like Monticello, a cozy Illinois city with a lively Main Street that may be the exact opposite of the Instagram-worthy destinations drawing masses of visitors. Sandwiched between Springfield and Indianapolis, the small city of about 6,000 instead offers a big dose of small-town charm and humility.
Monticello holds an underappreciated place in history. Abraham Lincoln, still a young lawyer, spent time in the local Tenbrook Hotel as he traveled the Eighth Judicial Circuit, cutting his teeth as an aspiring legal mind. He also had a knack for turning social events inside out. One infamous scene involved Honest Abe persuading children to heat an inflated pig’s bladder in a fireplace. The ensuing explosion sent hot coals all over the room, with Lincoln setting a broom on fire trying to clean up the mess.
You won’t find any bouncy pig bladders or flaming brooms, but his time in the area is commemorated with “Looking for Lincoln” plaques scattered at places he frequented during his time there and the rest of Illinois. Monticello gladly embraces its history, offering a perfect counterbalance to Urbana-Champaign, a trendy college town with thriving arts and vibrant culture that’s 30 minutes away. It’s an idyllic weekend getaway for travelers tired of slapping hashtags on everything.
Check out Main Street, dine, and ride the rails
The cozy city offers a Baby Bear’s porridge version of a big-ticket destination: not so overwhelming that the average traveler burns out from the heat, yet also not so chill that it leaves visitors twiddling their thumbs. The town’s downtown area, which orbits around Main Street, gives visitors a chance to see the small city’s best offerings and spend a little cash. There’s No Place Like Home, just off Washington Street, has a delightful collection of antiques, jewelry, and upcycled tchotchkes that make splurging a guilt-free exercise. Mary, Maude & Me, an antique store just two blocks away in a charming little brick house, has a similarly eclectic, well-curated inventory of vintage wares. Next, it’s time to chug along to the town’s biggest draw.
Any visit must include a stop at the Monitcello Railway Museum. Its weekend train rides offer a time portal back to an era when rails and steam engines helped small towns like Monticello expand. Bookended by two depots, the museum’s dozens of historic trains reward passengers with a sense they’re on the set of a “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Afterward, your stomach will likely grumble. Thankfully, Monticello offers plenty of dining options.
The smattering of small eateries covers a wide breadth of humble food options, sans white tablecloths. Hankering for some Mexican? Casa Real and Las Marias have you covered. Those in more of a lunch pail and hard hat mood can hit the Brown Bag Deli. Its mix of wraps, sandwiches, and full-on meals will satiate exactly the ravenous hunger one feels after spending time on a railroad.
The ins and outs of visiting Monticello
No matter where you’re traveling from, you’ll need a car to reach the city. Despite its proximity to several larger metropolises, Monticello’s closest airport is the University of Illinois Willard Airport, a comparatively small hub that often requires a transfer at Chicago O’Hare to reach. The closest major transit hub, Indianapolis International Airport, unfortunately, is two hours away. The drive in, however, offers plenty of worthwhile pit stops. About halfway between the airport and Monticello, you’ll find Danville, an underrated Illinois city that’s a peaceful lakeside retreat.
Monticello’s diminutive size limits your available accommodations. A single chain hotel and a smaller inn are the only available options, costing between $75 and $200. Decatur, itself an underrated Midwest gem with trails, public art, and a zoo, sits about half an hour away and offers some more places to overnight.
While there’s no wrong time to visit Monticello, the muggy summers and chilly winters mean the weather’s most pleasant during the shoulder season. If you’re in town between June and October, include a stop at the city’s farmers’ market. Local vendors offer everything from baked goods to flowers, along with the usual smattering of fresh produce. No inflated pig bladders, though.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday told News 8 tougher enforcement in Indiana and at the U.S.-Mexico border saved lives last year.
The Indiana State Police said state troopers seized 1,574 pounds of cocaine last year, including 1,100 pounds taken from a U-Haul truck. They also seized 88 pounds of fentanyl powder, nearly 73 pounds of heroin and 191,000 fentanyl pills.
State police said those are records as far as they know. For comparison, state police seized 919 pounds of cocaine, 73 pounds of fentanyl powder and 20 pounds of heroin in 2024.
In an interview with News 8, Braun said state police have changed some of their techniques, including how they approach commercial vehicle enforcement.
“You see the semis get pulled over, that’s generally for a safety check, maybe a taillight being out. Well, they’re going to the next step just to make sure nothing else is amiss,” he said.
Braun credits those enforcement efforts, along with supply disruptions due to the Trump administration’s tougher border policies, with a drop in drug overdose deaths. The state health department’s drug overdose dashboard shows 562 overdose deaths in the first half of 2025 compared to 869 during the same period in 2024, a drop of roughly 35%. The department’s data for 2025 and 2024 is preliminary and is current only through August 5 of last year.
Substance abuse treatment advocates said tougher enforcement and better access to treatment both play a role in reducing overdose deaths. Overdose Lifeline founder Justin Phillips said fentanyl is now present in virtually every illicit drug, so access to the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone is a must. She said the biggest obstacle people battling addiction in Indiana face is being able to navigate the treatment options that are available to them. Phillips said Indiana 211 is an excellent resource.
“Parents and caregivers and people who love someone with substance use disorder need tools to understand how to still navigate those resources and know what questions to ask and how to get their own recovery, because the whole family suffers, not just the individual,” she said.
Phillips said overdose deaths spike in the immediate aftermath of large-scale drug busts because users are unable to work with their usual dealers and turn to new dealers who might sell even more adulterated substances. In Marion County, Overdose Lifeline and the Marion County Health Department run a text alert system called CHARIOT that can alert users to bad batches and large-scale seizures, as well as connect them with naloxone and treatment services.
Braun said he plans to ask for increased funding for substance abuse and mental health programs when lawmakers begin their next budget session in 2027. He said the December revenue forecast indicates the state will have more money to work with than state economists feared during the final days of budget negotiations last year.
“When you are doing things that are working so well, you continue doing it,” he said. “And as we gather information in terms of new things to do, looking at what other states might do, we’ll do all of that. But when you go from over 1,600 overdoses (in 2024) to 562 (in the first half of 2025), that’s an Allelujah moment.”
Users can sign up for CHARIOT by texting that word to 833-274-7039.
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