The Sedona-red building at the corner of 16th and Alabama streets, a former Herron School of Art and Design classroom, sat empty since the school left its 16th Street campus for IUPUI. Way back then, the low-slung brick building housed the metalworking studio and was known as the Foundry. This Friday, its doors will open again—but the name remains the same, Foundry Provisions (236 E. 16th St., 317-543-7357). Furthering the connection to the place’s past, a student who took classes in the old Foundry, Todd Bracik, is the first featured artist. His scrap-metal collages cover an entire white-brick wall.
Neighborhood ties run deep at Foundry Provisions, located on the edge of Herron-Morton Place. It’s helmed by Kimmie Burton, who lives in the area and spent the last five years working at Goose the Market, up the street. The breakfast menu will feature granola made by Project Endure, a group of classmates from the bygone Project School, which was located close by. Some of the staffers attend Herron High School across the street, and the place will surely become a popular Herron hangout. “I’ve got a lot of high school and cute 20-something baristas,” Burton says.
The industrial-hip decor pairs a concrete floor, corrugated metal partitions, deep-red booths, teal walls, and locally made tabletops composed of wood chips under glass and a spray-painted stencil of the Foundry’s logo. Large windows wrap around two sides, creating a panorama of bustling city life along 16th Street. A spacious patio will offer seating in season. The cafe will be open daily, with live music and late-night hours on Fridays.
As for the provisions, Foundry specializes in breakfast and lunch. Locally sourced ingredients dominate the menu. Paninis will be made with Amelia’s Pullman loaf and Smoking Goose meats. Circle City Sweets and Circle City Soups are also menu cornerstones. The joe comes from Julian Coffee Roasters in Zionsville, and the trendy one-cup-at-a-time pour-over technique is in the house. Burton hopes to bring on a vegan baker in the future.
We’re most excited to see if the cinnamon toast gives Cafe Patachou’s some competition. And we’ll find out soon.
