Photo by Jay Goldz
HOT IRON: The site of the Iron Skillet restaurant has been vacant since May of 2024, when owner Ronald Torr shuttered the fried chicken destination. Torr had hoped to sell the spot when he retired, but that didn’t happen, so the 1870s-era home at 2489 W. 30th St. has remained dark. Now the Indy Parks Board wants to demolish the building to make way for a “$9-10 million event center or a visitor center to welcome people to the neighborhood,” Mirror Indy reports. Some of its neighbors in the Riverside area are troubled by the plan, citing fond memories of the restaurant and its historical merit.
MOON, ECLIPSED: The future is uncertain for downtown nightclub Moon Bar & Grill, which since 2023, has served up drinks and dancing at 148 E. Market St. (the former Icon Lounge). On Monday, the Alcoholic Beverage Board of Marion County voted 3-1 to deny its liquor license renewal, after—as WTHR put it—“Metro Police showed up to the meeting with a laundry list of receipts,” including details of alleged altercations and firearm offenses at the business. According to the IBJ, a representative from nearby Christ Church Cathedral told the board that renewing the license would be an “acceptance of violence.”
That wasn’t the only local bar that faces a license loss: Thirty-One Bar & Grill (3131 Shelby St.) was also named at the meeting, with board members saying that the business has violated Alcohol and Tobacco Commission regulations and has been a “public nuisance.” In both cases, the businesses can appeal the decision with the ATC. Moon owner Tejinder Singh says he plans on making that appeal and will appear at the agency’s meeting on October 21.
SLICE AND SHOW: Dining has returned to the Kan-Kan, just in time for the Heartland Film Festival’s kick-off tonight. As reported in June, the cinema at 1258 Windsor St. shuttered its full scale restaurant after four years of struggles—though owner Ed Battista had envisioned the spot as a place folks would come to dine even without plans to see a movie, the dream didn’t pan out. But on Wednesday, King Dough spin-off The Final Cut opened its Neapolitan slice shop in the building’s lounge area, a walk-up window open 5-9 p.m. weekdays and 5-10 weekends.
HOT STONE: As teased last month, the latest offering from Arechiga Restaurant Group (Verde Flavors of Mexico, Casa Santa, Salsa Verde Mexican Restaurant, and Taqueria) has opened at 820 Massachusetts Ave. Piedra Mexican Restaurant launched last weekend as “a bold new chapter for Mexican dining in Indy,” the business says. The spot is also “more than a restaurant, a culinary gem,” it claims on Facebook, so while it has yet to place its menu online, it’s obviously serving up an abundance of confidence.
PRACTICE PICKETS: You might have noticed a commotion down the street from Piedra late last week—on Thursday, workers at the Starbucks at 430 Massachusetts Ave. walked off the job and staged a rally demanding fair pay and treatment. The shop is the only unionized Starbucks location in Indianapolis, though 650 stores across the company have organized in recent years. I reported on organizers’ efforts to reach a contract with the company earlier this year, and it appears little has changed since—per the Star, negotiations have stalled, even as company CEO Brian Niccol took home a $95.8 million salary last year (incidentally, a wage 6,666 times the median pay rate for a Starbucks barista). “I see everyone working their ass off every day, working so hard, and it just feels like it gets no reward, no respect for that whatsoever, and we just get kind of walked on,” a picketer told WFYI.
KIDS’ KITCHEN: Aspiring MasterChef Junior contestants should head to Washington Park later this month, as its family center will be home to two wellness and cooking courses for local youth. Kids in third through fifth grades can join the Catch Cooking Club, which meets from 4:15 to 4:45 every Thursday. Meanwhile, kids in sixth-12th grades can attend the Teen Cuisine class, which meets from 4:45 to 5:30. Both classes are free to attend and run from October 16 through November 20. Registration is available online or by calling 317-327-7473.
