Shuttered Shapiro’s space in Carmel ‘mothballed’ for now

Shapiro’s Delicatessen has left the building.

The venerable restaurant closed its location at 918 S. Range Line Road in Carmel for good on June 16 and company leaders handed over the keys within a week.

President Brian Shapiro also gave up an ownership stake in the brick building that launched the Carmel City Center redevelopment project in 2001. Three years ago, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission bought Shapiro’s $2.5 million mortgage, and the company began making payments to the CRC.

But the deli still struggled to make ends meet, and on June 12 Shapiro’s announced it would close the 11,500-square-foot Carmel eatery to focus on its flagship restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. The move allowed the deli to avoid foreclosure.

CRC Executive Director Les Olds said the agency is drafting a request for proposals to solicit new uses for the building, which is being “mothballed” in the meantime. City staff will maintain the property, and Olds said utilities will be reduced to the bare necessities to keep costs down.

Commission President Bill Hammer said other restaurant operators already have expressed interest in the bulding.

“There has been a lot of restaurant development in Carmel, and this is an opportunity for someone else to come in,” he told IBJ.

If that were to happen, what dining concept—or specific restaurant—would be at the top of your wish list?