Mass & Belle Opens With Stuffed Burgers And Local Beers

There’s a new Bottleworks spot for bar snacks, brunch, and cocktails.
mass and belle
Mass & Belle owners Becky and Jay Douglas. Credit: Jay Goldz

Mass & Belle
888 Massachusetts Ave.
317-426-2020

When Jay and Becky Douglas acquired Bottleworks-area brunch, lunch, and dinner standby Rooster’s Kitchen in February 2023, it was the culmination of a pandemic-era dream to trade their office jobs for the food business. But after running the place for six months, the Ben Davis grads—who met in first grade—realized “we needed a completely different restaurant and approach,” Jay says.

At the end of the year, they closed Rooster’s doors and launched a major reboot. Now called Mass & Belle Taphouse to reflect its location at Mass Ave and Bellefontaine Street, the new restaurant’s menu focuses on dishes inspired by the northern Midwest. That includes a cheese-stuffed, half-pound burger called the Juicy Belle—a play on a Minneapolis fave, the Juicy Lucy.

There’s also a wide selection of beers (mostly local) and a full bar, TV screens “that will always be showing the game,” and a Hoosier take on poutine with house-made cheese sauce and bacon. Saturday and Sunday, brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a selection of treats such as breakfast nachos, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy.