Noblesville bakery-cafe setting up shop in Zionsville

Rosie’s Place has found its spot in Zionsville.

The popular downtown Noblesville café and bakery plans to open a second location this year in Zionsville’s Village business district. It is taking over space at 10 S. Main St. that has been vacant since Le Dolce Vita closed its doors in January.

Owners Debbi and Michael Bourgerie had been looking to expand, but wanted to keep the small-town feel the restaurant has established in its four years on Noblesville’s courthouse square.

“We’re very picky,” said Michael, a former small-business consultant now working full-time to help his wife’s entrepreneurial dreams come true.

The Bourgeries, both 49, settled in Carmel about 10 years ago after following Michael’s career across the country. As their children approached college, Debbi “wanted to do something with her talents,” her husband said.

So she drew on a childhood spent helping with her family’s St. Louis cafeterias, opening the cozy breakfast-and-lunch spot in Noblesville and introducing Hoosiers to regional specialties like the gooey butter cookies Rosie’s now sells wholesale.

They were drawn to Zionsville’s brick Main Street because of its similarities to downtown Noblesville, with historic buildings and mom-and-pop merchants.

Extensive renovations are planned for the new location, previously home to Eagle Creek Coffee Co. Michael said the kitchen will be expanded—likely becoming the production hub for Rosie’s wholesale baked goods and homemade granola—and the space freshened up. He expects the work to take four to six months.

Named for Debbi’s grandmother, Rosie’s also has an e-commerce site, which allows customers anywhere to order treats to be delivered by UPS. And the bakery has a deal with local businesses including Hare Chevrolet, which sends customers a six-pack of cookies as a thank-you for every sale. Other such arrangements are in the works, Michael said.

Rosie’s goodies also are available at other local businesses, including Joe’s Butcher Shop in Carmel, several locations in downtown Indianapolis and the Noblesville Farmers Market.

The Noblesville restaurant prides itself on its locally sourced, made-from-scratch menu, and Michael said the new location will follow suit.

The Bourgeries have pulled historic photos of the Zionsville space—once home to the McGuire grocery store and Elliott’s Drugs—in hopes of returning it to its heyday.