Eatery in Fishers Test Kitchen expands to Carmel, while alum plans to revive concept in Holy Cross

Queenie’s French Bread Pizza opened this month at Sun King Spirits in Carmel, becoming a satellite location for the Queenie’s that debuted in October at the culinary incubator Fishers Test Kitchen.

Specializing in French bread pizza styles topped by pepperoni, fennel sausage and mortadella, Queenie’s replaced a different pizza restaurant, Pi, as a food vendor at Sun King’s two-story craft distillery and tap room in Carmel’s Midtown.

Neal Brown and Greg Howe, who serve as advisors at Fishers Test Kitchen, developed the Queenie’s concept as well as the One Trick Pony concept that serves burgers at the test kitchen, located in Fishers District just east of Interstate 69’s exit at East 116th Street.

Beginning next summer, One Trick Pony’s burgers will be served at a Sun King tap room planned for a mixed-use residential development in Mishawaka, the St. Joseph County city six miles east of South Bend.

After the recent closure of its Broad Ripple tap room, Sun King’s roster of locations will be six again after the Mishawaka site opens.

In other news related to the Fishers Test Kitchen, one of the three original restaurants in the culinary incubator plans a revival in the Holy Cross neighborhood of Indianapolis.

Natural State Provisions, a restaurant focused on Southern comfort food, opened with Fishers Test Kitchen in February 2020 and closed in September 2020.

On Dec. 8, the owners of Natural State Provisions announced via Facebook that the restaurant will take over the former site of Flat 12 and Rad Brewing, 414 Dorman St.

“We hope to have our Southern comfort food and brewery up and running by late spring.”

Natural State Provisions was launched at Fishers Test Kitchen by Adam and Alicia Sweet, co-founders of King Dough pizzeria. King Dough, 452 N. Highland Ave., is less than a quarter mile northeast of the future Natural State Provisions site in Holy Cross.