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Owners of Pier 48 Fish House & Oyster Bar are establishing a pop-up location at George’s Neighborhood Grill on the northeast side of Indianapolis after exiting a 6,500-square-foot space connected to downtown’s Hyatt Place/Hyatt House hotel.
Pier 48 co-owner Keith Stucker told IBJ that the seafood restaurant ceased operations at 130 S. Pennsylvania St. at the end of June because of “excessive construction and resulting noise, blocked roads [and] bad air quality” related to the nearby demolition of a century-old CSX railroad servicing building.
The Hyatt Place/Hyatt House hotel and the former CSX site are across the street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Redevelopment of the former CSX site, 230 S. Pennsylvania St., includes plans for a 4,000-seat live performance venue operated by Live Nation, a 170-room Shinola Hotel, an underground parking garage and a skybridge connecting to the basketball arena that’s home to the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. Spearheading the project is Boxcar Development LLC, a holding company for a group of investors led by the Herb Simon family, which owns majority stakes in the Pacers and Fever.
George’s Neighborhood Grill, 6935 Lake Plaza Drive, near the intersection of East 71st Street and Binford Boulevard, is co-owned by Laura Hiatt, who’s also a co-owner of Pier 48.
Stucker indicated that a permanent location for Pier 48 is in the works on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
In the meantime, Pier 48 employees are working at the pop-up operation at George’s.
“To care for our employees and loyal customers, we made this transitional decision,” Stucker said. “[There’s] more to come in the future from this fine restaurant team in a better environment.”
In 2021, Pier 48 Indy LLC filed a lawsuit against one of the restaurant’s investors, Kelli Dugan.
Stucker, an Indianapolis investment adviser who started Pier 48 with Fred Knipscheer, a former professional hockey player, accused Dugan and Knipscheer of undercutting the Pier 48 business by secretly planning to open other restaurants in central Indiana.
According to Marion Superior Court documents, the litigation is scheduled for a jury trial in December.
Attempts to reach ALO Property Group, which handled retail leasing for the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House project when it opened in 2019, were unsuccessful.
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Went once around a year ago. Tried to warn my spouse off with the bad reviews on Yelp. Should have walked away when we saw no other customers in there. Was perhaps the worst meal we’ve ever had in Indianapolis.
Even worse than Steak n Shake? Are you sure you are not reflexively badmouthing an establishment because it is leaving Hogsett Heaven? Remember when you tweaked out on SNS because the “journalists” included Kennedy’s name in the headline? BTW Biglari Holdings stock is up 37% in the past year and up 250% in the past 5 years.
Stick to shaking your fist at the sky over Education.
@Chuck 71st/Binford is still Indianapolis.
Steak N Shake has less than 450 locations nationwide. That makes them a blip in terms of restaurants. Competitors like Five Guys have 1700!
Sounds like they were in over their heads and the construction was a nice excuse. I agree with Joe, I went once and we were the only customers. The food was mediocre, even though the restaurant was beautifully appointed (it can’t be a cheap space to lease). That corner is a foot traffic hotspot, something will fill that space quickly.
ever notice how the good restaurants aren’t affected by construction to the point of closure? just a thought
I mean, if you can’t make it work in that location, It’s probably the business itself. Can also attest to the mediocrity of the food and service.
Last time I went about a month ago it was a great experience, they had a happy hour going on for drinks as well as oysters on the half shell. Service was wonderful there was quite a crowd in there at mid-afternoon also.
I will definitely visit them at their new location to help support them. I do have to agree though all the construction around there made sitting outside undesirable but the inside dining was fine.
Amazing how here in the NUVO comments, even restaurants become political. When I have been there the place is packed, great food, and a good experience, but somehow Nate’s Flock encountered the worst experience of their life.
I agree Chuck they must be doing something right to have stayed open in that location for as long as they have. The construction is something new that has happened and occurred so how dare they possibly tell the truth.