Scotty’s Brewhouse to close 96th Street location

Scotty’s Brewhouse plans to close its north-side Indianapolis location at the end of the day Sunday, the restaurant chain announced Tuesday. 

The restaurant and bar at 3905 E. 96th St. opened in 2006.

"This location has seen some extraordinary successes in its 13 years but more recently has struggled to overcome declining sales and performance," the company said in a written statement.

The closure will be the sixth for the Indianapolis-based chain since late last year, leaving 11 existing Scotty's Brewhouse locations and two Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. locations.

Employees at the 96th Street restaurant will have the chance to transfer to one of Scotty’s other locations, the company said.

Former owner Scott Wise told IBJ in 2015 that the 96th Street spot was one of the chain’s top-performing locations.

But business has dropped off sharply since then. Parent company Scotty’s Holdings LLC said it’s closing the location as it seeks to recover its financial footing after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December. 

According to a bankruptcy filing, the 96th Street location posted an operating loss of $23,746 from Jan. 28 through Feb. 24.  

Another filing shows the location reported $2.5 million in gross revenue in 2018. That was down from $3.5 million in 2017 and $3.8 million in 2016.

Road crews have been doing work along 96th Street, and the company said the resulting traffic disruption has contributed to declining sales at the location.

The company closed its four weakest performing locations in December after announcing its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Those locations were in downtown Indianapolis, Carmel, Muncie and Waco, Texas. 

Another location in Noblesville closed in February. Scotty’s Holdings said the owner of that location, who operated under a management contract, made the decision to close.

After the 96th Street closure, Scotty's will have five corporate-operated locations (Butler University campus in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, West Lafayette and Mishawaka) and six operated independently under management contracts (Southport and Brownsburg in Indiana; Champaign and Matoon in Illinois; Oxford, Ohio; and Poplar Bluff, Missouri).

The company has Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. locations in Broad Ripple and Muncie.

"We plan to emerge from bankruptcy strong this summer and see a stable and rewarding future ahead for the company," the company said in its statement.

Scotty’s Brewhouse was founded in 1996, when Wise opened a restaurant in Muncie after graduating from Ball State University.

Wise built the chain to 17 locations before selling it to Scottsdale, Arizona-based Due North Holdings LLC and Japan-based Sase Kosan K.K. in late 2016 for a reported $10 million.

Wise is facing multiple recent lawsuits that accuse him of misleading investors, which he denies.