Photograph by Tony Valainis
TRUCKED UP: Indy’s Kickstarter-ed food truck Books Bourbon & Bacon got a nasty surprise this week when they learned that for the first time since 2020, they won’t be allowed to serve GenCon attendees at the wildly popular event’s dining area. According to owner AJ Feeney-Ruiz, his line-attracting mobile restaurant was one of the most popular dining attractions in years past, turning the event into an important part of the truck’s business model. After he was charged $300 to apply for GenCon 2025, this year, his truck was rejected for the first time in its history. “I couldn’t believe it,” he told me Wednesday, recounting all the aspects of his business launched to adhere to the values of GenCon visitors, from gluten-free and vegan offerings to a greater focus on sustainability.
Feeney-Ruiz says he’s contacted organizers but “only got a form letter in response,” which means he still isn’t sure why his company was rejected while other trucks—many of them from other states—were approved. (I was also unable to obtain comment from GenCon organizers.) Posting to the Fans of GenCon Facebook page, Feeney-Ruiz shared that he’ll park his truck at the intersection of College Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, and St. Clair Street from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day of the convention, even though he’ll be far from the center of the action.
“They told me I could park just outside the GenCon and still get some customers,” he says. “But those other trucks are paying $3,000 to be there, while I’d just be paying the parking meter rate. Doing that would be a violation of food truck code.” So far, GenConners responding to his post have vowed to make the trip north to visit the truck and mourn its absence from the central area. “This truck has become part of my tradition there and it bums me to know it’s not selected,” one attendee says. “You are a daily GenCon stop for me,” says another. “I will absolutely make the trek to come see you.”
DEATH AND: Just days after Conner’s Pub owner John Yaggi was accused of tax crimes and sexual misconduct, another figure from the Broad Ripple bar scene faces federal allegations. Robert Sabatini, a name familiar to fans of Average Joes, Mineshaft Saloon, and Rock Lobster, “underreported total taxable sales in the amount of $3,986,303 and failed to remit $358,768 in total taxes,” says the Marion County Prosecutor’s office in a statement detailing an investigation that began in July 2023.
If you’re like me, the first thing you may wonder is what impact this case could have on country singer Clayton Anderson’s new bar planned for the Mineshaft location—especially considering the venue’s current owners plan to manage the day-to-day at Clayton’s Ripple Rodeo, as the bar at 812 Broad Ripple Ave. will be known. But despite news reports that Sabatini still owns the businesses he’s accused of mismanaging, he’s actually been out of the nightlife game for a while. Earlier this year, Steve Wentland and Itamar Cohen, who own Broad Ripple’s Old Pro’s Table and Fishers bar the Main Event, bought Sabatini out of his interest in the venues early this year, and they say he’s not involved with them anymore. So while Sabatini is in a bit of hot water this week, Anderson and his partners’ plans are still full speed ahead.
FISH TALES: Chef and conservative political commentator Andrew Gruel founded seafood restaurant chain Slapfish in 2011, boosting its profile via his frequent appearances on controversial cable channel FOX News. He sold the business to private equity firm Mac Haik Enterprises in 2023, which has closed many of the company’s restaurants in the years since. But Indy restaurateurs Mark and Lauren Weghorst—who own three Slapfish locations in Noblesville, Fishers, and on Mass Ave—are in expansion mode, with a new location planned for the Market District in Carmel. The Weghorsts, who say their spots are “not directly affiliated with the corporate office” (per the IBJ), are currently renovating 11505 N. Illinois St., with a plan to open their latest restaurant there in the fall.
DARKNESS FALLS: As someone who lives just steps away, I’ve been eagerly watching the monthslong renovation of the former World of Beer at 409 Massachusetts Ave. The bar shuttered its Indy location in late 2023 after five years in business—and five years of area residents grumbling that the Florida chain supplanted their beloved Mass Ave Toys, which left the area in 2017 after its landlord reportedly pushed them out. As the Star’s Indylicious newsletter was first to note, the front awning now bears the logo for Dusk Lounge, which describes itself via OpenTable as a place “where elegance meets the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean.”
A liquor license application posted to the spot’s window lists Fishers-based APY Holding LLC as the owner, a company that shares an address and owner (Amir Rashidfarokhi, for those keeping track) with the Fishers Imports car dealership. My efforts to reach Rashidfarokhi for more intel on the business have been unsuccessful in the past, but perhaps that’ll change now that the restaurant is closer to launch.
