Photography by Tony Valainis
FRANKLIN FUN: Via press release comes word that Kevin Goewey—a food and beverage manager with a deep bench of casino dining experience—will open a business called The Foundry Gastropub where Franklin’s Jefferson Street Pub poured pints until storm damage shuttered it in 2020. Comfort food, cocktails, and pleasant service are promised by the new restaurant at 90 E. Jefferson St., which expects to open this fall.
LET’S SPOON: The Nine Irish Brothers space at the confounding corner of (say this one five times fast) East North Street and North East Street on Mass Ave has been dark since last year, when its owners abruptly shuttered the pub. Now a new business, called the Knotted Spoon Bar and Kitchen, will open in the flatiron spot this September, reports the IBJ. Owners Greg Cobb, Beverly Steele, and Michael Cobb also own B Squared Bar and Grill in Brownsburg, and say their new spot will serve “ribs, wings, and possibly protein bowls.”
BOOK ‘EM: Carnegie’s, the Greenfield fine dining restaurant in the former Carnegie Library at 100 W. North St., shuttered in June—but a few weeks later, Jake Burgess swooped in. The owner of Foxgardin-monikered restaurants in Fortville, Fishers, and Carmel is on a bit of a buying spree lately, scooping up the historic Bonge’s Tavern in 2023; last week, his bid to buy Carnegie’s also closed, reports the IBJ. Burgess says he’s going to embark on “a short remodel” then reopen, with—he hopes—much of its original staff.
ALL’S FAIR: Some self-flagellating members of the Star staff took on the task of ranking the State Fair’s wildest treats, and even if you love fair food, their adventures left me unsure if they deserved my admiration or sympathy. Items tested include Sun King’s cotton candy ale (2 stars), pickle-fried Oreos (4 stars), and some hot honey-blasted “Dirty Dancing egg rolls” (4.5 stars). The journalists’ gastrointestinal situation the day after the evaluations remains publicly unranked.
LINK UP: Folks are still mourning the closure of Zydeco’s, that 23-year-old New Orleans spot in Mooresville that shut down late last year. Now Plainfield-based Brew Link Brewing has opened an outpost in Zydeco’s former home at 11 E. Main St., with a lineup of company-made beer and a menu that includes bar snacks, burgers, tacos, and multiple mac and cheese permutations.
BLOOM, INTERRUPTED: Arden, that flower-bedecked cafe and lounge at 6 W. Washington St., opened its doors this past January, but it appears the bloom is already off the rose. A note on its website says that ticket-holders for August events and folks with paid reservations should call the business at 317-401-3848 to arrange a refund, as Arden has temporarily shuttered. But before you lay a bouquet on its grave, know that its owners are already planning to reopen in a new space, with an address that “will be released soon.”
