The Feed: House of Soul Cafe, Little Cairo Cafe, And More
A pair of longtime friends have opened House of Soul Cafe (4225 S. East St., 317-755-3539) on the south side, a fast-casual restaurant set up in the former home of a Dunkin Donuts. David Brown, a chef, and commercial pilot Adam Belt combined their powers to put delicious hot food where corporate donuts used to be, offering Southern-style soul food like whole fried wings and catfish nuggets to satisfy your meat-and-three cravings.
Little Cairo Cafe (5164 N. College Ave., 317-426-3588) has opened a second location in the former home of Taste Cafe to join their original spot in Carmel. Little Cairo is a hit thanks to freshly prepared Middle Eastern and North African dishes like moussaka and tabouli prepared with fresh herbs and lots of bright lemon. For the South Broad Ripple crowd missing their vegetarian favorites, it should be a perfect fit.
Many moons ago, we told you that Le Peep was going to open in the Indiana Design Center. For a while, a little thing called the coronavirus delayed the start of this project after three business partners bought the Indianapolis locations with a licensing deal in place with the corporate office. Now construction is finally beginning at the IDC, with an opening possibly later in the year. The licensing agreement will allow the owners full control over the menu, so some exciting changes might be in the works.
If you’ve been to the Indianapolis airport recently with a hankering for local coffee, it’s taking over their corporate offerings with Tinker Coffee Co.’s first cafe opening at the airport in Concourse B this Saturday and another to follow in Concourse A in the summer.
Hoagies and Hops, the Philly-themed sandwich shop turning out some insanely delicious cheesesteaks, is opening its second location inside Chilly Water (719 Virginia Ave., 317-964-0518) in Fetcher Place. For years, Chilly Water was running its own in-house kitchen with sandwiches and paninis. The menu will no doubt be getting a huge upgrade with this change, which is slated to open in March once all the hiring is complete.
February is hard, but His Place Eatery (6916 E. 30th St., 317-545-4890) trying to make it just a little bit softer with a few new menu items at the Eastside soul food hub. You already know about the red velvet waffles and the bourbon corn, and now there’s such thrilling items as the Peach Cobbler Chicken and Waffles, a sweet and salty combo of peach cobbler and ice cream served with fried chicken, or the Fried Chicken Pot Pie, a deconstruction made with creamy pot pie sauce and filling over a fried chicken breast and topped with a fresh baked puff pastry.
National chain Condado Tacos is opening location number three in Carmel in what used to be the Stacked Pickle, which permanently closed all locations at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s been a rapid local expansion since the first location opened in Broad Ripple in 2018, followed by a second location on Mass Ave shortly thereafter.
Green District, another fast-casual national chain, is opening its first Indianapolis outpost, making plans to have a presence at the upcoming March Madness tournament, though the restaurant itself (inside the former Au Bon Pain location on Monument Circle) won’t open until late spring. The restaurant known for a salad-forward menu, where guests can customize their perfect bowl of chopped greens, as well as wraps and sides, with at least two more locations on their way after the downtown location closes.
