All the Indianapolis restaurants that closed in 2019

The Indianapolis area has had a busy year of restaurant openings, but the region has also suffered some surprising restaurant closings.

Halfway through 2019, Indy and its suburbs lost at least 18 restaurants. Some had been in business a couple decades or longer. Others were from solid restaurant companies. More closings followed as the year progressed. 

Broken English Taco Pub

The Downtown Mexican restaurant closed in early January after just a year in business. District Tap pub is under construction there and is scheduled to open in summer 2019. 141 S. Meridian St.

Full story:Broken English Taco Pub closes in Indianapolis

Crispy Bird

The year-old fried chicken place in Meridian-Kessler shuttered Jan. 12. Owner Martha Hoover of Patachou Inc. restaurant group said Crispy Bird “was designed to be short-lived." As staff moved on, the location closed to become, as Hoover put it, “a food and restaurant incubator space where Patachou can develop and test recipes, mock up concepts, host visiting chefs and advance culinary education.” 115 E. 49th St.

Full story:Patachou fried chicken restaurant Crispy Bird has closed

Max & Erma’s

The chain’s Carmel restaurant had been open for 19 years when it served its last meal Jan. 31. James Blystone, vice president of franchising and communications with  parent company Glacier Restaurant Group, said construction along U.S. 31 and Carmel Drive affected business. "We love the Carmel area, and if we're able to find a better location for the restaurant, then we'd like to be back," Blystone said. 12195 N. Meridian St., Carmel

Full story:Max & Erma's in Carmel closes

Shula’s Steakhouse

At the end of February, the chain founded by former Miami Dolphins football coach Don Shula closed its Downtown location at Westin Hotel Indianapolis. The restaurant had been there for 21 years. Westin Indianapolis general manager Andy Seal said, "The decision to close was a joint decision between hotel ownership and the restaurant management company. The lease was at its end and it was an opportunity to make a change." Shula’s was replaced by Nourish, offering American classics and healthy options.  241 W. Washington St.

Full story:Shula's is another downtown Indy steakhouse closing

Metro Diner at Butler

The chain closed its Butler location on March 3. Metro Diner spokesman Crafton Bryant said the closure was "strictly a business decision." A Fort Wayne location closed the same day. Florida-based Metro Diner still operates two restaurants on Indy’s north side and locations in Greenwood and Plainfield. 4702 Sunset Ave.

Full story:Metro Diner closes restaurant on Butler University campus

Hard Rock Café

The giant guitar decorating the side of the Downtown building came down shortly after the restaurant closed on March 18 after 20 years in business. The space remains vacant, and the guitar was to be destroyed, per the Hard Rock’s request. 49 S Meridian St.

Primanti Bros.

Three years after it opened in Noblesville, the chain sandwich shop shuttered in spring. The company retains locations in Avon, Greenwood and Indianapolis. 13871 Cabela Parkway, Noblesville

Nickle Plate Bar & Grill

The Fishers restaurant beloved for its large pork tenderloin sandwiches closed April 20 after 28 years in business. The closing made way for a downtown development project expected to bring apartments, retail shops, a hotel and a six-story bank headquarters to the heart of the Nickel Plate District. 8654 E. 116th St., Fishers

Nickle Plate remembered:Diner's name could live on

Bonna Station

The first bar to serve mixed drinks in Irvington closed June 10 after 9½ months in business. “The good news is that there will be new owners (whose name I can’t share yet) that I’m sure will be a much better fit,” the building’s owner Chris Baggot said. Later this year, the owners of Coat Check Coffee and Provider coffee shops opened Strange Bird tiki bar at the location. 130 S. Audubon Road

Full story:Restaurants close back-to-back in Irvington and Broad Ripple

Nook: A Paleo Influenced Diner

The Downtown restaurant geared to special diets such as Paleo, keto and Whole 30 went dark in mid-June after 16 months in business. The owner pondered whether to reopen in fall or install a new concept, maybe Italian. The latter came to  be. Pomodoro opened in November with a menu of lasagana, pastas and brick-oven pizzas in a limited-service format where guests order a counter and then wait for a runner bring food the table. 15 E. Maryland St. 

Full story:Nook Paleo restaurant closes in Downtown Indianapolis

Palomino

The chain restaurant had been in business for 23 years in Downtown Indianapolis when it closed at the end of June. Palomino did not give a reason for the closure, but Restaurant Business magazine reported in July that Palomino parent company Restaurants Unlimited had declared bankruptcy. The space remains vacant. 49 W. Maryland St.

Full story:Palomino Restaurant & Bar in Downtown Indianapolis is closing

O’Charley’s

On June 29, staff at the 6111 N. Keystone Ave. and 10289 E. Washington St. restaurants told customers the locations would no longer serve guests after business ended June 30. O’Charley’s senior marketing director Jeff Hingher did not say why they were closing.

Full story:2 O'Charley's locations shut down in Indianapolis

Scotty’s Brewhouse

Locations started tumbling shortly after the company declared bankruptcy in late 2018. The Downtown and Carmel Scotty’s units were gone by the end of that year. Locations in Noblesville, Brownsburg and Southport Crossing followed this year, as well as Scotty’s on East 96th Street.

Dig deeper:Scotty's Brewhouse founder says he did not mislead investors

Thr3e Wise Men

"It is with a heavy heart after 8½ wonderful years Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. in Broad Ripple shut its doors Sunday, June 9. We will keep our taproom location open in Muncie, where we will continue to offer our signature craft beer while supplies last," owners announced in a note on the door. The brewpub was part of the company that owns Scotty’s Brewhouse. Sun King King Brewery ended up putting a taproom at the former Thr3e Wise Men and partnered with Pier 48 restaurant for a seafood menu under the name Offshore. 

Full story:Thr3e Wise Men closes in Broad Ripple

CharBlue Steak & Seafood

Launched by ex-Colts linebacker Gary Brackett and a business partner, the restaurant was the latest in a string of Downtown Indianapolis restaurant closings this year. It's also Mile Square’s fourth steakhouse to shutter in the past 18 months. Brackett and business partner Jeremiah Hamman decided to turn the property into an event space, Hamman said. CharBlue closed June 29. The Boiling seafood restaurant from around the corner has since moved into the former CharBlue.

Full story:CharBlue is the 6th Downtown Indy restaurant to close this year

Natural Born Juicers

The Mass Ave. juice bar was credited for more than aiding good health. The business was lauded for also helping to revive downtown Indy. Success led to a Broad Ripple location that opened in 2018. A year later, on July 22, 2019, Natural Born Juicers announced the businesses had closed but did not say why.

Full story:'The end of an era!!' Natural Born Juicers closes

Qualita

“I want to cook at the highest level I possibly can. “This is kind of my shot at it here in Indy,” chef Charles Mereday said in June as he prepared to open this prix fixe, Italian fining dining restaurant at the former Amalfi and then Matteo’s, 1351 W. 86th St. Alas, the $85 four-course set menus never caught on. Qualita closed a little more than a month later.

Rebar

Mereday took over and revamped this downtown Indy bar in February and installed an menu with wow dishes like crispy, sticky sour apple ribs and watermelon salsa on fried fish tacos. He closed Rebar, 20 N. Delaware St., in July around the same time Qualita shuttered. 

The Corner

Broad Ripple mourned the closing of Corner Wine Bar and its sister spot, The Wellington Pub, in March 2018. A new owner remodeled the space. Although he kept a few things regulars loved, the reincarnation closed in spring, about a year after it opened at 6331 Guilford Ave.

Granite City Brewery at Circle Centre

Doors to the restaurant were locked in late August without explanation, and the location is no longer included on the chain's list of Indiana locations. 

HoiTea ToiTea

The 6285 N. College Ave. tea shop ended Broad Ripple service on Sept. 15, according to a post on the tea house’s Facebook page. HoiTea ToiTea is still in business at The Fashion Mall at Keystone. Owners Alexandra Nelson-Harris and Justin Harris did not answer IndyStar's email requests for more information about the closing, but Harris said on HoiTea ToiTea’s Facebook page that the “redline construction certainly didn’t help one bit."

Taste Café & Marketplace

The restaurant, 5164 N. College Ave. at 52nd Street south of Broad Ripple, closed in late summer after 15 years in business. It continued to serve food at the Broad Ripple Farmers Market, market manager Barbara Wilder said. The restaurant’s owner, Deidra Henry, did not returned calls asking for more information about the closing. In April, she told IndyStar that since Red Line construction first started, sales dropped 35 to 40 percent from the previous spring. Henry said the decline was a “drastic, drastic decrease overnight.”

Louie's Wine Dive

The Broad Ripple location, 701 Broad Ripple Ave., threw in the towel Sept. 21, while the Mass Ave. location continues operations. "We can confirm that construction on the Red Line did impact our traffic and sales, but that is not the sole reason for the closure. We would prefer not to comment further," Louie's Wine Dive President Whitney VinZant said in a written statement Sept. 23. 

Bravo! Cucina Italiana

The Castleton branch of the restaurant chain was popular when it opened in 1995 at 8651 Castle Creek Parkway East Drive and remained so for years. In October, doors locked as the struggling brand adjusted to new owner, FoodFirst Global Restaurants. Bravo! Cucina Italiana's other Indy location, 2658 Lake Circle Drive, remains open.  

Ike & Jonesy's

The retro-themed bar that’s been a Downtown Indianapolis fixture for 30-plus years fries its last tenderloins and lights up the dance floor one final time on New Year's Eve. Faced with new building owners, Ike & Jonesy's founder Ike “Rickie” Eichholtz decided to buy out of his lease. The business is at 17 W. Jackson Place.

Full story:'It's been a joy': Retro bar Ike & Jonesy's to close

Bub's Cafe

The sister restaurant of Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream and one of Carmel's favorite breakfast and brunch spots, closed Oct. 30 after more than a decade in business at 2nd Street SW, off Monon Trail. In December, Danny Boy Beer Works'  owner said he planned to buy Bub's Cafe and open a restaurant featuring steak, seafood and lighter fare as well as cocktails and an outdoor beer garden.

What's next for Bub's:A new restaurant/brewery is coming

Mudbugs

After 13 years in business, the family that owns the restaurant said so long on Dec. 26. Belinda and Roy LeBlanc and their daughter, Kelly, operated the cafe, 20 W. Main St., that opened in 2007. Back then, the owners said, they had more time to dedicate to running the restaurant. “Now we have four spirited grandkids and would like more time to spend with them — and to finally have some weekends free for fishing trips!" A Mediterranean restaurant named Little Cairo is scheduled to open there in early 2020.

Full story:Mudbugs Cajun Cafe is closing in Carmel after 13 years

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, and on Facebook. Call her at 317-444-6264.