This time next month, you’ll once again be able to grab a beer and a bite from the Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant (5212 N. College Ave., 317-283-7388). According to manager Melissa Uhte, the 79-year-old neighborhood favorite will reopen its doors in the first or second week of October after a 13-month closure for reconstruction, the result of an electrical fire that destroyed the back of the building and left everything else saturated with smoke.
The inside may look totally different, but the menu is largely the same. “We had a successful restaurant before,” says Uhte. “We haven’t been closed because we were trying to revamp ourselves.” The kitchen will be serving up an expanded breakfast menu at 8 a.m. every day. Eggs made to order and a $9 turkey avocado eggs Benedict are new additions to the old Sunday brunch menu. A 10-inch breakfast pizza topped with hollandaise, cheddar, and mozzarella can be ordered as is for $9, or customized with meats and veggies for $1 each.
The beer selection has nearly doubled, with a new 70-tap system to pour 59 craft beers, including local suds from Sun King, Flat 12, and Fountain Square Brewery. One root beer will also be on tap. New hours are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday to Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.