Owners of Broad Ripple bars and other businesses have a message for former patrons: The lengthy reconstruction project on Broad Ripple Avenue is over and new public safety measures are in place. Please come back.

The entertainment district has had a difficult trifecta of circumstances, beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, followed by construction on the main street that wrapped up late last year and a string of violent incidents last summer. Bar owners told IBJ on Wednesday that they’ve taken a big financial hit.

Patrick Sparks has owned Brick House Dueling Pianos for 47 years. This year, he had to use $350,000 of his savings to get by, he said. With 21 months left on his lease, he’s hoping that next year will see a pickup large enough to prevent him from draining his dwindling retirement funds , so he can keep the bar open.

Sparks and other owners spoke to media following a regular meeting of late night business owners and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officers at Kilroy’s Bar & Grill at 831 Broad Ripple Ave..

The meetings arose due to the challenges the entertainment district has faced in recent years, including a high-profile triple homicide last summer and multiple efforts at improving safety in the entertainment district. Those discussions included the consideration of a gun-free zone, which Broad Ripple stakeholders ultimately axed due to potential costs.

While Sparks expected business to pick back up this past summer, he said his bar has had fewer patrons than last summer. Owners said the reputation the area gained last summer has driven away business.

“I hear constantly, from the younger kids especially that used to come in late night, ‘Whoa, Patrick, we love your piano bar, but we just don’t come to Broad Ripple anymore; we don’t feel safe at night. So, I have to preach to them,” Sparks told IBJ.

IMPD North District Commander Matthew Thomas said the department has seen success in getting businesses to buy into IMPD’s B-Link camera program, as well as in the usage of other technology such as public safety cameras and license plate readers. Above all, though, he said it’s been beneficial to have a seat at the table for IMPD at the monthly bar owner-focused meetings.

“We’re very enthusiastic about the collaboration that’s being done in Broad Ripple,” Thomas said. “There’s not a day goes by that we can’t pick up the phone and call each other, whether it’s IMPD contacting the Village Association or business owners contacting each other, we’re seeing such great increase of communication.”

Kilroy’s, which hosted the meeting, is investing in the Broad Ripple location despite a recent downturn in business during construction on the property’s outdoor patio to create an event space. Jade Sharpe, director of operations, said the community has nearly weathered the storm.

“I know everybody was a little leery of what the summer would bring, and we’ve had a great, smooth summer, and that just kind of goes to show what we can do,” Sharpe told IBJ. We all work together and acknowledge what any of the issues may be and addressing them.”

Sparks, however, also characterized the summer as “very slow.” The challenge now is bringing back customers. They’re working to do that through organized bar crawls, but also weighing other options that could make the area more appealing.

One possibility was the establishment of a designated outdoor refreshment area, or a DORA, such as the recently-established DORA in Carmel. Attendees compared the potential to something like the Fourth Street Live! district in Louisville, which is closed to traffic and has a secured perimeter.

Wednesday’s discussion was the first on this topic. Establishing such a district in Broad Ripple would require city-level legislation.

Democratic Councilor John Barth, who represents the district, said that the idea of having a closed-off area with automatic bollards like Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington is appealing. Barth said closing the road to traffic on evenings could help foster a more festive atmosphere.

Still, there are a lot of details to sort out.

“This is the very beginning of a long process to think about doing something like that,” Barth told IBJ.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Cooler temperatures and lower humidity settle in over the next several days.

This morning:

Muggy conditions continue as a cold front moves through the state. We are also noting very low cloud cover in some areas of drizzle this morning.

Wednesday:

Look for drizzle to continue through at least mid-morning. The clouds will gradually decrease as we head into the afternoon hours. High temperatures will only make it to around 80°, which is slightly below average for this time of year. Also noteworthy is a slight dip in the dew point temperature, making it feel a little less humid.

Wednesday night:

The clearing continues as we head into the overnight hours. Temperatures will be much more comfortable overnight, falling to the lower 60s in the city and the upper 50s in outlying areas. There is the possibility of some patchy areas of fog, but it should not be widespread across central Indiana.

Thursday:

The wonderful weather continues until the end of the work week. Mostly sunny skies for Thursday with low humidity. Temperatures will run warmer, with highs in the mid-80s.

Friday:

A nice day is on tap for Friday. Lots of sunshine with highs into the upper 70s and low humidity.

This weekend:

No complaints about the weather for the weekend. Temperatures will be running slightly below average. The humidity will remain low as well, making for a beautiful two-day stretch. Highs topped out around 80° both Saturday and Sunday.

7 day forecast:

Heading into next week, it does appear that we’ll see a slight warm-up, but nothing too significant. The weather pattern also looks to remain relatively quiet, with not very many good rain chances over the next several days.

Indiana sports fans had their worlds collide recently when the Indiana Pacers current star met the greatest Indianapolis Colts player of all time.

Last week, Team USA’s Men’s Basketball team shared a video of Peyton Manning meeting several members of the Olympic basketball squad. That included Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. The two chatted for a few seconds in the video.

Manning, a legend with the Colts and a Super Bowl winning quarterback, also posted photos of the interaction on his Instagram, which opens with a photo of a handshake between Manning and superstar LeBron James.

“Good luck to USA Basketball in the Paris Olympics,” Manning shared as his caption for the photos. He was involved in the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Paris Olympics as a co-host.

The QB spent 13 seasons with Indianapolis and won multiple MVPs. He led the Colts to a Super Bowl title in 2006 in one of the best professional sports seasons in the history of Indiana.

Haliburton hopes to change that at some point and has daydreamed about a championship parade in Indianapolis. He believes that the Pacers are being glossed over from a team quality perspective in the coming season.

“All I keep seeing is, ‘Who’s going to win the East? Boston, Milwaukee, New York, or Philly?’ It’s like, what are we doing [not being included]?” Haliburton said to GQ. “If we want to gain that respect, we just got to keep having success as a team. And it’s coming.”

The Pacers guard has helped Team USA reach the semifinals of the Olympic games and is averaging 2.7 points and 0.7 assists per game in the competition. Haliburton next plays on Thursday against Serbia.