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The owners of Fountain Square’s Hi-Fi music venue are getting into the restaurant business.
Easy Rider Diner will open Oct. 13 in the former location of Pure Eatery, 1043 Virginia Ave. The Murphy Arts Building restaurant is next door to Hi-Fi, the live music venue managed by concert company MOKB Presents.
“We’re excited to bring a much needed down-home breakfast spot back to Fountain Square,” said Josh Baker, Hi-Fi co-founder and MOKB Presents president.
Ricky Martinez will be the chef at Easy Rider, where brunch-inspired comfort food will be accented by Southwestern flavors. Martinez is known for his work at area restaurants Delicia, Bocca and Havana Cigar Lounge.
Easy Rider’s menu includes biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, steak and potatoes, chilaquiles and queso mac and cheese.
“We grab the classic American favorites and add a touch of Mexican ingredients and preparation,” Martinez said.
Baker said Easy Rider’s name can be inferred as a reference to the 1969 counterculture film, but its origin is more closely related to touring musicians who don’t make complicated demands for backstage amenities. In music-industry jargon, an easy rider is a basic list of requests for a concert promoter to fulfill.
Tony Basile, who previously worked at Iozzo’s Garden of Italy, is Easy Rider’s general manager.
In addition to traditional seating, Easy Rider will have a full bar, private dining area and meeting space for groups of 12 or more.
The restaurant will be open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 a.m. to midnight on Fridays; 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays; and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Easy Rider will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Baker said the restaurant will extend service times to correspond with some concerts at Hi-Fi and events in the neighborhood. Daily updates will be shared at the restaurant’s @easyriderindy Instagram profile.
Hi-Fi is a 400-capacity venue that hosts performances by national, regional and Indiana artists. Earlier this year, MOKB Presents took over the former Heartland Film offices north of the Easy Rider space. In addition to serving as operational headquarters for MOKB Presents, the former Heartland spot includes a souvenir shop known as Virginia Avenue Mercantile.
The combined area of Hi-Fi, Easy Rider and MOKB Presents offices adds up to more than 10,000 square feet on the first floor of the Murphy building. MOKB Presents also manages second-floor venue Lo-Fi. Since 2020, the company has presented non-winter concerts in the parking lot behind the Murphy building at an open-air venue billed as Hi-Fi Annex.
Pure Eatery served food in the Murphy building from June 2010 until December 2021.
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8:00 am does nothing for most working people unless they are having a meeting.
Closing to early!!! All nite or nothing!!!!
This is a GREAT addition to the Fountain Square area!
I believe the owners should be appreciated for this effort instead of immediately criticized.
It is impossible to please everyone.
We are excited to give them our breakfast business!