Chain dessert shop Amorino Gelato Al Naturale is headed to the Fashion Mall. According to a press release from a rep for the shopping center, the business—which serves hot and cold drinks, gelato, and various pastries—will soon open in the mall’s Fashion Cafe food court. The franchise-based company has locations around the globe, but based on its website, this appears to be the first Indiana outpost for the brand.
Lick has permanently shuttered its SoBro location. The homegrown ice cream company has had a rough few months at its little blue shop at 1049 E. 54th St. after a plumbing issue caused extensive damage to the business in January. Via Instagram, it announced it would not reopen in that space, but all is not lost—the business has its eye on another location in the area, so expect an announcement soon. In the meantime, its counter at The Garage food hall (906 Carrollton Ave., 317-979-0237) remains open for business.
Booze is coming to the old Broad Ripple Starbucks spot. Since 1999, the building at 854 Broad Ripple Ave. was home to a Starbucks outpost—but that ended last December, when the coffee chain shuttered that spot. Kristen Alderson, who owns nearby bar Thieves, took over the lease on March 1, WTHR reports, with a plan to move her business from its current home at 915 Broad Ripple Ave. to the corner location. “Thieves is a cocktail bar. It’s probably the only true cocktail bar on Broad Ripple Avenue, and so we are not going to lose any of that touch, but we are going to expand into a coffee house as well,” Alderson tells the station, a move we’ve also seen lately at Alchemist (1660 Bellefontaine St.) and West Fork Whiskey’s Rise & Revel in Fountain Square. The rebooted Thieves is expected to open in June.
Indy’s first Cava just opened. As teased last week, the fast casual build-your-own bowl company is planning an expansion into Central Indiana, with a Fishers location at 11594 Whistle Dr. now serving up salads, wraps, and more that feature the flavors of the Greek and Arab worlds (think hummus, falafel, and tzatziki). A second local spot is expected later this year.
Piada Italian Street Food has arrived in Avon. The Ohio-based fast casual chain has locations across the eastern U.S., including a handful in Indy. Like its other outposts, the Avon shop serves a menu of pastas, bowls, and a dish they refer to as Piada Pockets, which are basically a hybrid of wraps (remember those?) and calzone. (If you really want to go down a Piada hole, check out this ancient Reddit post that’s purportedly from a longtime staffer and claims Chipotle as its inspiration.)
Another downtown hotel? Yup! The Star was first to report that a portion of the office towers located at 201 and 251 N. Illinois St. will be converted into a Moxy-branded Mariott hotel. The hospitality giant’s Moxy line fashions itself as (this is my take as an occasional guest, not the party line) the loose, “fun aunt” of the company, with cocktail-heavy branding—typically, one checks in at the lobby bar—and industrial finishes. The Indy Moxy will be the state’s first and will include a hotel bar with a patio, a location of chain restaurant Bar Louie, and a Starbucks-branded coffee shop on the ground floor. Assuming the plans to renovate are approved, the hotel could open to guests as soon as 2026.
