Indianapolis, IN

Openings and closings: Carmel gets Euro fine dining, downtown loses Mexican spot in February

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2025

Openings and closings: Carmel gets Euro fine dining, downtown loses Mexican spot in February

After a few frigid weeks, February concluded on a mercifully warm note. As blades of grass and a few brave flowers emerged from the snow, so did a fresh crop of new eateries around Indianapolis, including coffee on the east side, fine dining in Carmel and a pair of trendy chains in the rapidly developing Nora Plaza. Meanwhile, a decades-old westside bar and a downtown Mexican spot said good-bye.

Here are some of the restaurants that opened and closed around Indianapolis last month, with a couple of holdovers from January.

Restaurants that opened in February

Corridor (formerly Nicole-Taylor’s Pasta)

1134 E. 54th St., (317) 257-7374, corridorindy.com, opened Jan. 21

Named for the “corridor” of Mediterranean countries whose cuisines inspire its menu, this high-end SoBro lunch and and private dinner spot is the successor to Nicole-Taylor’s Pasta. Chef-owners Erin Kem and Logan McMahan, who purchased Nicole-Taylor’s from founders Rosa and Tony Hanslits in July 2023, have continued the restaurant’s renowned private dinners that run Wednesday through Saturday every week and regularly sell out months in advance.

Corridor’s lunch menu (served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday) has expanded upon its predecessor’s focus on Italian food to include dishes from Portugal, Spain and the Middle East, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. The small, upscale plates include roasted sweet potato wedges with garbanzo beans and tahini butter ($8), pumpkin- and sage-filled cappelletti ($16) and a bitey citrus-forward maitake mushroom shawarma-style sandwich ($18). Corridor also operates a small market (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday) that offers deli meats and cheeses, spreads and a selection of Nicole-Taylor pastas.

Milk and Honey Coffeehouse drive-thru

8511 Southeastern Ave., opened Feb. 1

Owner Taylor Hummel last year told IndyStar she hopes her coffee shop will one day become a Wanamaker staple akin to longtime fish fry spot Wheatley’s, which closed in December. Milk and Honey currently operates a two-lane drive-thru vending craft lattes, smoothies and other beverages, with plans to eventually open a quick-service café in the spacious Southeastern Avenue building.

Cafe Oztara

1446 E. Washington St., cafeoztara.com, opened Feb. 7

The Damien Center, Indianapolis’ largest and oldest organization specializing in support services for people with HIV or AIDS, bills Cafe Oztara as a “welcoming space for everyone,” with an emphasis on Indianapolis’ LGTBQ+ community. The coffee shop/event space serves hot drinks and smoothies ($3 to $7), plus a slim food menu including small breakfast dishes, salads, sandwiches and soups ($1 to $9), in a colorfully furnished brick building on the Damien Center’s eastside campus.

Josephine

110 W. Main St. Unit 100, Carmel, (317) 548-3589, josephinecarmel.com

Josephine is a French-inspired eatery from Ambrosia Hospitality Group, which also operates Italian eateries Ambrosia in SoBro and Bocca in the Near Northside, plus speakeasy-inspired cocktail bars Nowhere Special on Mass Ave and The Commodore in Fountain Square. Offerings at Josephine include steak frites ($47), ratatouille ($12) and escargot ($16), with an expansive wine menu and select cocktails.

Freeland’s

875 Freeland Way, Carmel, (317) 316-9875, freelandsrestaurant.com, opened Feb. 12

The project of Tinker Street co-founder Tom Main, this fine dining spot in Carmel’s North End community occupies an 1845 house once home to generations of Carmel’s Freeland family. The staff includes sommelier Ashlee Nemeth and bartender Grace Donlon, both formerly mainstays at Tinker Street, as well as a handful of employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in the North End apartments just steps away — and whom Main credits as the reason he decided to open Freeland’s in the first place.

Head chef and Fort Wayne native Matt Hamilton (formerly of farm-to-table eatery Rosie Cannonball in Houston), brings a nostalgic Midwesterner’s tilt to traditional Central and Eastern European flavors; menu highlights include lamb-stuffed Russian dumplings (pelmeni, $18), braised beef tongue with grilled and pickled cabbage ($18) and charred carrots in a smoky Balkan vegetable spread called zacuscă ($16).

Bovaconti Carmel

2 W. Main St., bovaconticoffee.com, opened Feb. 14

Nearly a year and a half after it announced a projected spring 2024 opening, Fountain Square-based Bovaconti finally opened its second location in Carmel’s Arts and Design District. Bovaconti brings a European flair to its coffees and Italian-style sodas, though guests will also find more familiar lattes and sweets on the menu.

Culinary Dropout at Nora Plaza

1320 E. 86th St., (463) 231-8050, culinarydropout.com, opened Feb. 19

As the Nora Plaza continues to develop, this eatery by Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts is among the new tenants. Culinary Dropout offers an upscale take on gastropub fare with items like slow-cooked pork ribs ($31) and Korean-style ribeye ($37) joining sandwiches, salads and a robust cocktail list. The Nora Plaza location is the chain’s 13th nationally.

Flower Child at Nora Plaza

1340 E. 86th St., (463) 336-9556, iamaflowerchild.com, opened Feb. 25

Joining Culinary Dropout at the Nora Plaza is Fox Restaurant Concepts’ health-centric eatery, Flower Child. The restaurant offers plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options including salads ($10 to $15), grain bowls ($11 to $16) and protein-forward entrées (around $15).

Circle City Kolaches

1521 N. Green St., Brownsburg, (317) 456-2643, circlecitykolache.com, opened Feb. 28

This new Brownsburg eatery specializes in the Czech and Slavic pastries known as kolache (or as the savory variety are known to purists, klobásník), which rose to prominence in Texas and surrounding states around the turn of the 20th century. Located in the same storefront as Ritter’s Frozen Custard, Circle City Kolache offers sweet and savory pastries with fillings including spicy polish sausage and cheese ($4.25), assorted fruits ($2.50), Half Liter BBQ pulled pork ($4) and Nathan’s Hot Dog ($3.50). The eatery also offers coffee, and diners can add a scoop of Ritter’s custard to their order for $1.

Restaurants that closed in February

Grindstone Charley’s

5383 Rockville Road, closed Jan. 13

This small American bar and restaurant chain started in Noblesville in 1985 under Clancy’s Hospitality, which at one point managed more than 30 Clancy’s Hamburgers locations across four states. The second Grindstone Charley’s opened on Rockville Road on the west side in 1985. Another on Crawfordsville Road in Speedway has also since closed. The Rockville Road location’s closure leaves just one Grindstone Charley’s, in Kokomo, although Clancy’s Hospitality still operates upscale offshoots of the eatery with Grindstone on the Monon in Westfield and Grindstone Public House in Noblesville.

La Margarita (temporarily)

1043 Virginia Ave., lamargaritaindy.com, closed Feb. 8

After 14 years in Fountain Square, the storied Mexican eatery will move to the Near Eastside’s Factory Arts district with a projected March reopening. The move to the Factory Arts District will be La Margarita’s fourth in its 41-year history; the restaurant opened in Speedway in 1984, moved to the intersection of 86th Street and Township Line Road in 1990, to 96th and Meridian Street in 2006 and then to Fountain Square in 2011.

Nada

11 W. Maryland St., closed Feb. 23

A sign posted to the entrance doors of this cocktail and taco spot announced its Feb. 23 closure and thanked customers for nine years at the Circle Centre Mall. A spokesperson for Wisconsin-based Hendrick’s Commercial Properties, which acquired Circle Centre Mall in April 2024, said before the acquisition that Hendrick’s expected street-level businesses including St. Elmo, Harry and Izzy’s and Nada to remain Circle Centre tenants throughout the mall’s extensive redevelopment projected to begin this year. But Nada, a small chain from Cincinnati-based Bocca Restaurant Group, will not be among those tenants.

Know of a restaurant that opened or closed in your neighborhood? Let dining reporter Bradley Hohulin know at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @BradleyHohulin.

Source link

Click to comment

Indianapolis, IN

Circle City Orchestra wraps up season with ‘Sound Bites’ fundraiser

Published

9 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

Circle City Orchestra wraps up season with ‘Sound Bites’ fundraiser

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Circle City Orchestra will close its 2025-26 season with a special “Sound Bites” concert on Sunday.

The concert begins at 4 p.m. at the Athenaeum’s Basile Theatre. Admission is free, with a suggested donation to support the nonprofit, all-volunteer orchestra and “keep the music going.”

Craig Mince, president of the Athenaeum, said the venue has been home to the orchestra for several years — a connection that runs deeper than most might expect. The Athenaeum once hosted a full-time orchestra of its own, and welcoming Circle City Orchestra back into the space has felt like a natural homecoming.

“We love having them,” Mince said. “It harkens back to an old Athenaeum orchestra that used to be in the building full-time. We’re happy to have music back in the building again.”

Phil Kranyak, principal cellist with the orchestra, started playing cello in third grade but stepped away from the instrument for 17 years before joining Circle City Orchestra. He said the group’s welcoming culture made the return feel seamless.

“We are inclusive in every sense of the word,” Kranyak said. “Whether you’re picking up an instrument for the first time or coming back after a long pause, it is so easy to step into this orchestra.”

Andrew Wu, an oboist who joined about a year ago, had a similar experience. Wu played violin, saxophone, and oboe through graduate school before taking a roughly 10-year break. He said the orchestra gave him a meaningful way to reconnect with both music and community.

“Music is such an important part of people’s lives,” Wu said. “Being able to express yourself through music and connect with a greater audience — and within your own orchestra — is just wonderful.”

The orchestra says it is always looking for new musicians.

Rehearsals are held every Wednesday at the Athenaeum, and new faces are always welcome. Mince said nearly every rehearsal brings at least one first-time attendee, and the orchestra embraces that.

Musicians do not need to commit to a full season – the orchestra asks only that members participate in rehearsals for the concert cycle they plan to perform in.

Concert Details

❓: Circle City Orchestra “Sound Bites” End-of-Season Concert.
⏰: 4 p.m. Sunday.
📍: The Athenaeum’s Basile Theatre, 401 E. Michigan St.

Source link

Indianapolis, IN

Top seeded West Chester cruises to 12-3 win over University of Indianapolis in the Division II championship

Published

19 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

Top seeded West Chester cruises to 12-3 win over University of Indianapolis in the Division II championship

CARY, N.C. — One big inning was all the West Chester baseball team needed to get off to a winning start at the Division II championship.

The Golden Rams put their first five batters on base in the first inning and all eventually came around to score in a 12-3 opening round victory against the University of Indianapolis at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Friday.

Ace Julian Costa didn’t have his best stuff on the mound, but he battled through seven innings while his offense pounded out 14 hits to earn a date against UT Tyler on Sunday (6 p.m., ncaa.com) in the winner’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

» READ MORE: Kyle Lazer aims to finish what he started with West Chester baseball in Division II championship

“Our guys all do our homework, so we knew what we were getting and were just looking to be aggressive early,” said catcher Caleb Strawhecker, who in addition to going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored at the plate, threw out two would-be UIndy base stealers. “Putting up a lot of runs on the board was the goal and luckily we were able to do that.”

The Rams (45-10) wasted little time establishing their dominance against the overmatched Greyhounds, who advanced to Cary, N.C. by winning the Midwest region.

Carter Rust hit a leadoff single in the first inning and scored on a double by Strawhecker, who then came around on a single by Austin Stalker. After Hunter Smith walked and a perfectly placed bunt single by Patrick Gozdan loaded the bases, Tanner Donati made it 3-0 with an RBI single before two more runs scored on a double-play grounder by Harry Middlebrooks and a single by No. 8 hitter Christian Michak.

“It was a good complete game effort,” West Chester coach Mike LaRosa said. “Jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first. Give Costa a five spot and I think everybody feels confident from there on that we’ve got an opportunity to take that game.”

As it turned out, the first inning outburst was enough for the Rams to win the game. But it wasn’t as easy even with their best arm on the mound.

The senior left-hander Costa wasn’t as sharp as he was when he held Millersville without a hit into the seventh in last week’s NCAA Atlantic Super Regional. While he gave up 10 hits and walked two, he always seemed to make the right pitches at the right times to wiggle out of trouble.

» READ MORE: Rowan baseball drops opening game vs. Adrian in Division III championship, face elimination on Saturday

The only runs he allowed were a second inning homer to Brayton Bowen and an RBI single by Austin Bode in the fourth.

Not only did Costa leave the bases loaded twice on the way to his 13th win in 14 decisions this season, he started the game by picking off the first two UIndy runners to reach base in the top of the first. Strawhecker also helped him out by throwing out two more runners trying to steal second.

“It was a little [difficult] location-wise at the start of the game,” said Costa, who struck out seven. “Around the third inning was when I started extending my legs and worked on the mound, and everything came together.”

West Chester added to its lead with a run in the fifth, then broke the game open late with two in the seventh and three more in the eighth on a three-run homer to left center by Rust. UIndy (39-23) got its final run in the ninth off the Rams’ bullpen.

“After the pickoffs happened [in the top of the first], we all just laughed to ourselves and said ‘We’re good now,’” Strawhecker said. “Then it was just getting back to business, getting outs and playing our game.”

Source link

Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis police shoot homicide suspect following pursuit

Published

1 day ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Indianapolis police shoot homicide suspect following pursuit

The suspect was wanted in connection with the shooting death of a woman earlier in the evening.
The suspect was taken to the hospital in stable condition after being shot by officers.
Two firearms were recovered at the scene of the police-involved shooting.

This article will update. Get breaking news alerts on your phone → download the IndyStar app.

Indianapolis police shot a homicide suspect after a vehicle pursuit that ended west of downtown near Interstate 70.

Just before 8:30 p.m. May 28, 2026 Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to a shooting in the first block of North Rural Street. Arriving officers found Patricia Wieber, 65, with gunshot wounds. Wieber was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.

Witnesses were able to give police information about the shooter and officers tracked the suspect to the 7500 block of Bullock Court on the city’s south side. The suspect, identified by police as Ronald Cross, 75, got into a different vehicle with another man. While tracking that vehicle officers attempted a traffic stop near West Southport and Bluff roads. The driver, who is not implicated in the homicide, got out of the vehicle without incident and was taken into custody.

Police said Cross then slid into the vehicle’s driver seat and fled. Officers used stop sticks and then in the 1000 block of South Harding Street near I-70 a SWAT officer used a vehicle to perform a PIT maneuver to stop the SUV, said Kendale Adams, IMPD deputy chief of criminal investigations.

After the vehicle was stopped officers shot the suspect, Adams said. Cross was taken to the hospital in stable condition. No officers were injured.

Adams said two firearms were located at the scene.

During a news conference at the scene, Indianapolis police chief Tanya Terry extended her thoughts to the family of Wieber who was killed in what police believe was a domestic violence situation. She also praised her officers’ handling of the situation.

“[Our officers] did exactly what our community expects them do to in situations like this,” Terry said. “Our officers worked with bravery, coordination and precision in their attempts to safely bring the suspect into custody. I’m extremely proud of them for the work that they’ve done.”

The chief added that Cross would be facing charges in the case and police confirmed hours later that Cross was arrested on a murder charge.

The shooting involving police was among a string of shootings across the city, including one downtown roughly two hours before that left a man in critical condition.

“It’s been a difficult night for our city,” Terry said.

The officers involved in shooting Cross have been placed on administrative leave, per department policy. The Civilian Use of Force Review Board will have a hearing on the shooting and body and dash cameras were activated during the shooting, Adams said.

It is unclear whether Cross fired at officers and what makes and models of firearms were found by police.

Asked those questions by IndyStar, an unnamed IMPD spokesperson did not provide additional information and instead referred to a press release that did not contain the answers.

This is the fourth shooting involving Indianapolis police since the start of the year.

📩 Start your morning with the top Indy news delivered straight to your inbox with IndyStar’s Daily Briefing. Sign up for free at indystar.com/newsletters.

Get more information of shootings involving Indianapolis police here.

After an IMPD officer-involved shooting, what comes next?

From investigations and reviews to public updates and department procedures, this is what happens after an IMPD officer-involved shooting.

Source link