RETIREMENT PARTY: For 18 years, brother-and-sister restaurateurs Sang and Ha Nguyen have served up excellent Vietnamese dishes at Sandra Rice & Noodles (10625 Pendleton Pike). The business shuttered last month after Ha made the decision to retire. The city of Lawrence eulogized the restaurant on its website, thanking the siblings for “nearly two decades of flavor, tradition, and heart.”
NOBLESVILLE BOOM: A new strip mall at State Road 32 and Hazel Dell Road will host a lineup of powerhouse tenants, the city of Noblesville announced on Facebook. The Midland Pointe development was announced as a $72 million effort by the mayor’s office at its inception, with a Crew Car Wash and Wawa gas station already in the works.
Now officials say only one of the structure’s retail slots is still available, as tenants including local Italian mini-chain Convivio Italian Artisan Cuisine and national operations Nothing Bundt Cakes and Wingstop have also signed on the dotted line. Other chain businesses previously announced for the development include dirty soda chain Swig and a location of Indiana-based booze business Noble Wine & Spirits, which Indy old-schoolers might remember under its old name, Mr. G’s. Construction is underway for all, with opening dates TBD.
UNION NOW: Meanwhile in Westfield, another development rises. The Union at Grand Junction is a mixed-use building (a structure that’s both residential and commercial, for the uninitiated) that will take up a full city block just south of State Road 32 between Mill and Union streets.
According to a press release from the city, seven tenants have agreed to move in thus far. Those relevant to our dining interests include Everbowl, a national chain focused on the highly questionable idea of “superfoods”; a new location of Columbus favorite BlackSheep Pizza and Cocktails; franchise-based chain Stella’s Ice Cream; and yet another location of growing Speedway coffee empire The Spark. They’ll join previously announced tenant Sun King Brewing Co., a locally founded brewery with six current Indiana outposts and an offshoot in Sarasota, Florida. Expect a phased rollout on those businesses, as construction is ongoing.
PRIME DAY: And the development news keeps coming, as if you were somehow unaware the the entire north side of the Indy metro area is one big construction zone. The Crossing at Fishers District is part of a $750 million expansion in Fishers called the Union and Slate at Fishers District (is “Union” the top development baby name of 2025? Discuss!) and will boast about 30,000 square feet of restaurant space.
Back in March, national pickleball court/restaurant company Chicken N Pickle was announced as the first Crossings tenant. Now the owner of Carmel’s Prime 47 steakhouse (which is unaffiliated with the downtown steakhouse of the same name) will open a business in the new development, reports the Star. Owner Jeremiah Hamman has yet to decide on a name for the new spot at 11000 Stockdale St. Ground broke on the development last month, so—say it with me—opening dates are still unclear.
BROWNE HOMAGE: Jackson Browne’s 1976 classic “The Pretender” has long been heard as a musical criticism of capitalism and a castigation of those who cast aside their humanity in pursuit of cash. So what does it say that Clancy’s Hospitality—the folks behind a dining empire that includes Mass Ave supper club the Fountain Room, Clancy’s Hamburgers, and the Grindstone family of restaurants—has named their newest restaurant after the iconic anti-establishment song?
The company announced its new restaurant via social media last month, saying the spot will be a “a hi-fi listening bar open daily … offering small plates, craft cocktails, wine, and beer in an immersive, music-forward environment.” The Pretender will be located at 818 Logan St. in downtown Noblesville and will presumably advertise its opening via social media. And if you want to learn more about Browne’s thinking behind his song, this explainer from the proudly liberal and progressive singer is fantastic.
VERMONT VALUES: Speaking of progressives, Vermont-based Ben and Jerry’s has made headlines recently for its battle with parent company Unilever over alleged restrictions on the ice cream company’s social policy stances. But that hasn’t stopped the business from expanding, most recently to a location on the ground floor of Muse Carmel, an apartment building at 1685 E. 116th St. The IBJ was first to note the planned scoop shop, which has yet to open.
