Yats opening new concept near Central Library

Yats plans to open a new restaurant and bar concept in the first floor of the The Ambassador apartment building next to the Central Library. The homegrown restaurant chain with four Indianapolis-area locations is taking 2,400 square feet on the side of the building closest to Pennsylvania Street (shown here) for a more upscale New Orleans concept tentatively called Bar Yats. Building owner Buckingham Companies is building out the space at 39 E. Ninth St. in anticipation of a grand opening in early 2010, said Jane Hendrickson, the company’s director of development operations. Buckingham, which bought the six-story structure from the library, began leasing the building’s 60 apartments in July. About 70 percent of the units already are occupied, Hendrickson said. The locally based developer hopes to lease three smaller first-floor spaces for other users, but Yats will be the only restaurant. Built in 1924, the Ambassador is on the edge of the historic St. Joseph neighborhood and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.