Two Chicks Whisky Business opens Plainfield bakery

Two Chicks Whisky Business, a bakery that started three years ago from a food truck, has moved into a brick-and-mortar location at 120 E. Main St. in Plainfield.

The 800-square-foot space’s best-known former occupant is Hill’s Cobbler Shop, a shoe-repair business.  It previously housed a variety of other businesses, including a fitness facility, a construction company office and, most recently, a pottery shop.

Spouses Rhonda and Paige Welp, who live in Avon, started Two Chicks in 2016 when they bought an old work truck, converted it into a food truck and used it to sell their desserts at farmers markets, special events and private gatherings in Hendricks, Marion and Johnson counties.

The bakery sells a changing variety of cupcakes, pies, cookies, cakes, cinnamon rolls and other items. Paige Welp handles most of the baking, while Rhonda Welp handles the business side of things.

In April 2018, Two Chicks began selling its products at the Orange Leaf frozen yogurt shop in Avon, which won them additional customers.

When the Orange Leaf owner decided to retire, Two Chicks decided to take the plunge and open a permanent shop of its own. They sold their truck two months ago, and in preparation for their store opening they stopped selling at Orange Leaf last month.

The Welps settled on Plainfield because it would keep them near many of the customers they’d already developed, Rhonda Welp said. “We wanted to be in Hendricks County. We didn’t want to be too far from the roots of where we grew.”

The owners also wanted a location close to home because, at least for the time being, they’re keeping their day jobs. Rhonda Welp is a probation officer and Paige Welp is a school bus driver.

The store, whose first day of business was Friday, is still experimenting with its hours based on customer demand. For now, it’s open Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.

Business has been brisk so far, Rhonda Welp said. On its second day of business, the bakery sold out a batch of 100 cinnamon rolls in just 20 minutes. 

The Welps have self-funded their entire business, seeking no outside investors and reaching customers solely through social media and word-of-mouth.

“Everything about us has really been grassroots,” Rhonda Welp said. “One of the best pieces of advice we got was, ‘Grow slow.’”

In other news this week:

— A new barbecue joint, 3 Brothers Pub & Grub, expects to reopen any day at 5836 Crawfordsville Road in Speedway. The establishment opened for a short time earlier this month but was forced to close last week because of some unforeseen issues related to its smoker, the restaurant said on its Facebook page. As of Wednesday, 3 Brothers said it expected to reopen as soon as it received one final approval from city officials.

— Macy’s Inc. has brought its outlet-store concept, which it calls Macy’s Backstage, to its Castleton Square Mall location. The Castleton Macy’s Backstage, which opened on Saturday, is a store-within-a-store space that occupies about 13,800 square feet on the second floor. It sells a variety of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as housewares, linens, cosmetics, shoes, handbags, accessories and gifts.

Macy’s launched the Backstage concept in 2015 with four sites in the New York City area. The department store chain now has Backstage shops at 180 of its stores. Macy’s other Indianapolis-area store, at Greenwood Park Mall, opened its Backstage shop in April 2018.

— The discount department store chain Stein Mart Inc. announced this week that it is installing Amazon Hub lockers in nearly 200 of its stores, including one of its four Indianapolis-area locations.

The Stein Mart at 1488 W. 86th St. had its Amazon locker installed in April, the company said. Stein Mart, which is based in Jacksonville, Florida, has a total of seven Indiana stores, including locations in Carmel, Greenwood and Noblesville.

Amazon Hub lockers are secure self-service kiosks that customers can use as a spot to pick up and return their Amazon orders.