Mass Ave roundup: Union 50, Nine Irish Brothers

Here's an update on some new eatery offerings that have been in the works for downtown's Massachusetts Avenue:

• Nine Irish Brothers restaurant is the first retail tenant to sign a lease to occupy space in the Milliken on Mass project. The $23 million development across from the Athenaeum at Michigan Street and Mass Ave includes 144 affordable and market-rate apartments and retail/restaurant space.

Nine Irish Brothers is operated by Jerry O’Bryan, the youngest of nine brothers, and has locations in Lafayette and West Lafayette. The restaurant plans to occupy 4,200 square feet in the Milliken project and should be open in April.

The restaurant’s menu of traditional Irish fare includes fish and chips, Guinness stew, Shepherd’s Pie and corned beef.

All of the restaurant’s furnishings will be shipped directly from Ireland, said O’Bryan, who visited in December to select the items.

“We looked in Indianapolis for about three years and we liked the Mass Ave spot,” said O’Bryan, a Lebanon native. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to come to Indianapolis.”

• Union 50 is a new offering from local restaurateur Mike Cunningham, who operates Mass Ave eateries Bru and Mesh.

The restaurant will be located at 620 N. East St., just north of Massachusetts Avenue, and should be open in May, Cunningham said. Demo work has started, with construction slated for February.

Union 50 takes its name from the history of the building, which was built in 1950 and served several years as a union hall.

Cunningham described the restaurant's fare as “chef-driven American cuisine.” It will be open for dinner only and will feature live music.

• Pizzology should open in the former Aesop’s Tables space at 600 Massachusetts Ave. by March, owner Neal Brown said.

Brown hoped to open about a month earlier but has been delayed a bit by a zoning variance he submitted to the city for parking.

Besides taking the space at 600 Massachusetts Ave. formerly occupied by Aesop's Tables, he’ll also take a space next door, giving him a total of 3,600 square feet. That’s about 700 square feet more than Brown has at this Carmel restaurant, which he launched in 2009.

• Outliers Brewing Co. at 534 E. North St., nearly across the street from the Pizzology location, opened in early December. The production brewer, operated by Broad Ripple’s Brugge Brasserie owner Ted Miller, provides beer to local bars and restaurants.

By March, Outliers should be serving beer growlers to the public, Miller said. And a brewpub called The Owner’s Wife should open next door by late spring.

The restaurant will take about 3,800 square feet, Miller said.