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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v05n05)
Feb BRVA Meeting at Art Center
posted: Feb. 29, 2008

Close to 100 people attended the February 2008 public meeting of the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) at the Indianapolis Art Center. Susanna Held of Scholars Inn Bakehouse brought treats for the evening. The majority of the meeting time was spent discussing a proposed project in the Village: Brothers Bar & Grill that plans to locate in the Broad Ripple Trophy Center at the corner of Guilford and Broad Ripple Avenue. The Gazette covered one of the public zoning meetings concerning Brothers Bar & Grill in Volume 5, number 3. The presentation at the BRVA meeting was to allow more residents to see the proposal and make comments. The last step for the project's approval is for them to obtain a liquor license. The zoning issues were approved by the City of Indianapolis' board of zoning appeals at the January 22nd meeting of Board III. The hearing for the approval of the liquor license will be held on March 3, 2008, at the City-County Building.
Before the project presentation, BRVA board member Jim Holland described the procedure for obtaining a liquor license and the role the BRVA plays in that process. Holland described that the two factors in the approval process by the Marion County liquor board are the transfer of ownership of the existing license to Brothers Bar & Grill and the location of the establishment. Holland explained that while there is a limit to the number of licenses available, there is nothing in the law that limits the number in an area such as Broad Ripple Village.
The transfer of ownership approval is based on objective criteria set up by the State of Indiana and on the character of the applicant. Holland expressed that he thinks that the transfer will not be an issue. "Location is an issue. The local (Marion County) board will consider the need for such services, the desire for the neighborhood and community for such services, the impact of such services on other businesses in the neighborhood or community, and the impact of such services on the neighborhood or community."
Holland explained that the Wild Beaver Saloon recently obtained a liquor license for their location on Broad Ripple Avenue near College. The Saloon already had a license at associated with that location, so they only needed to have the transfer of ownership approved, which is a simpler process as the question of need and desire was not on the table. That license approval was similar to that of a license renewal. The Brothers license is different because of the relocation to Broad Ripple.
"We want to be sure that everyone understands what the BRVA's role is," explained Holland. "That is as a neighborhood organization to make a recommendation to the local (Marion County alcoholic beverage) board if we so choose. Anyone that is directly affected by the license can appear at the local hearing (downtown) and remonstrate or they can go and speak in favor. The BRVA does not have any veto or approval power as to whether these gentlemen get their license or not. All the BRVA can do is have the board of directors take a vote based on their best judgment and the consensus of the community and decide to support, oppose, take no position, or support with conditions. A lot of people think the BRVA has official veto power which we do not have."
Brothers Bar & Grill attorney Jeff McKean described many of the details of the project. The Fortney brothers, Eric and Mark, have been in business for 18 years. They focused their development on the Big 10 campuses and own each of the buildings that house their establishments. Since the business was founded, the brothers have not closed or changed the concept of any of the locations.

Eric and Mark Fortney presented the plans for their restaurant.
Eric and Mark Fortney presented the plans for their restaurant.
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Brothers Bar & Grill founders Eric and Mark Fortney presented the plans for the Broad Ripple location that will be their 16th establishment.
Mark Fortney began by explaining the Brothers logo on the awning of one of the Wisconsin locations that says 'established 1967'. "No," laughed Mark, "that wasn't our parents that started that location. Actually that was the year [Eric] was born and we became brothers." Brothers is a family-run, La Crosse, Wisconsin-based business with approximately 1300 employees. The Broad Ripple location would be 4,900 square feet. The other 15 locations range from 2,200 to 12,000 square feet.
In Broad Ripple the Fortney's will be acquiring the entire Broad Ripple Avenue block from Winthrop to Guilford. In addition to retaining the current tenants, two new retail tenants will be added to the building. A small outdoor dining area would be added to the Guilford Avenue side, matching the outdoor dining of Usual Suspects and Corner Wine Bar. The Fortney's would restore the Guilford and Broad Ripple Avenue corner to the original look by removing the panels over the windows and repairing the masonry as needed. Brothers Bar & Grill will be a non-smoking, family restaurant that will be closed on most Sundays. The menu will be "classic bar and grill" food with appetizers, soups, salads, paninis, and burgers.
"We are going to come to the neighborhood, hopefully, if we're allowed, as property owners," explained Eric Fortney. "What defines this project more than anything else is we are not just another transient tenant. Both Mark and I have four children. We look at this property as a tremendous family opportunity for ourselves. Tom [Bardach of Broad Ripple Trophy Center] is only the second owner in the history of this building. We would be the third and we would anticipate handing this piece of property over to our children. We love historic renovations of old buildings. We have a mason who works for us full time. We will do a full historic quality restoration on the building.
"We want to get involved in the recycling project. We've been talking to Brenda at Union Jack and we're excited about that. We recycle at all of our other properties, so we want to help be in charge of that as well. We are excited with the opportunity to fill a need in Broad Ripple for casual dining. It is one of the reasons we decided to go smoke-free. It is the first time we swam across the stream, so to speak, as that is not the norm in Broad Ripple. We can help lead that charge by having a non-smoking alternative in that area."
Jim Holland then opened the floor for questions and comments from the audience. A number of attendees presented organized remonstrance against the project. All of the speakers stated that they believe the brothers will run a respectable and responsible business. Some said the concern is the possibility of increased trash in their front yards and cars parked in front of their houses. The brothers answered that they believe the clientele that would come to their restaurant would not be the type that would throw trash in people's yards. They also said they are looking into creating a valet system where patrons could drop off their car in back and it would be fed off to a satellite lot.
There was a question raised about the potential problem with congestion on the busy corner of Broad Ripple Avenue and Guilford if patrons are waiting in line to get in to Brothers on a crowded night. Some local bar owners expressed concern over yet another bar opening in the Village and how that might affect public safety and Village cleanliness. Another resident expressed concern over letting another bar in the Village.
The brothers were asked about the hours of operation and possible entertainment at the restaurant. They responded that there would be no live entertainment and that the hours would be 11am to 3am.
Tom Barbach, current owner of the Broad Ripple Trophy Center, said he has received many offers to purchase the property over the years. Bardach mentioned that there were three higher offers to purchase the property, all included tall replacement buildings on Broad Ripple Avenue. The Trophy Center has outgrown the facility. With 45 employees and two off-site warehouses, Bardach said he either needed to take over the entire building to Winthrop or move. "In 1969 when my dad and I arrived in Broad Ripple there was no parking problem, there was no business. The biggest problem you had was just to get the existing business owners to wash the dust off the windows. Broad Ripple was not very popular. I remember there were two bars, one was The Patio and the other was Johnny Whittacre's Broad Ripple Tavern. Broad Ripple evolved and it keeps evolving. This (Brothers Bar & Grill) offer is the first quality offer that didn't entail knocking the entire building down. You talk about 'go somewhere else'; something is coming. I had the opportunity to listen to every offer and this one, by far, is the classiest offer that has the most promise for keeping Broad Ripple Avenue - like Broad Ripple Avenue. To bring investment to the area, outside investment, they're not asking for anything [from us]. What they're going to do to that block is amazing."
After more than an hour and a half of discussion on the Brothers Bar & Grill, Holland asked that the meeting move on to the rest of the scheduled agenda that was now running 30 minutes behind.
BRVA president Ellen Morley Matthews announced that due to two board members moving from Indianapolis, two board of director positions had opened. The November 2007, BRVA election had more nominees than open positions, therefore the board contacted the other nominees that had not made it onto the board to determine if they would still serve. Tom Healy and Jim Wodock accepted the two open positions. She also announced that the next public meeting of the BRVA will be April and that the Spring Town Hall meeting will be held during the time of the March meeting. The Town Hall meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 18, at 7pm in the Broad Ripple High School mini-auditorium.
BRVA board member Peter Dean added that the panel for the Town Hall meeting is scheduled to include councilman Vaughn, fire chief Greeson, a representative from city planning, the mayor's office, the Crime Watch program, and possibly from public works.
Next on the agenda were the committee reports:
Beautification - Rick Bees - The next meeting of the committee will be March 3rd at 6pm at Old National Bank. The next Village Clean-Up will be Saturday, April 5th, at 8 or 9am. Bees said that all of the trees recently planted along the 6600 block of College Avenue will need to be moved. The trees were planted too close to the street. The City of Indianapolis has ordered them to be moved. Bees said many volunteers are needed for the March 8th project to move the trees to other locations throughout the Village. An upcoming project is Re-Art-Formation, where recycling bins will be constructed from recycled materials. A current project is the cleaning partnership. Participating businesses will be identified with a window sticker proclaiming "Our business is picking up".
Communications - Diane Seybert - The communications committee has two new members who will be working on the News and Views section that is included in the Broad Ripple Gazette.
Farmers Market - Carolyn Savill - The Farmers' Market will begin on May 3rd in the south parking lot of Broad Ripple High School. The next harvest dinner will be held on April 15th.
Land Use and Development - Peter Dean - Northminster Presbyterian Church plans to raze several houses to add 100 parking spaces. A new gathering place is also planned as part of the expansion. The board voted to support this petition.
Membership - Sharon Butsch Freeland - The new BRVA directories are available. Shops should contact the BRVA to request either a countertop or a wall-mount directory box.
The last part of the agenda was community sharing. Three candidates running for Julia Carson's 7th Congressional District of Indiana seat spoke - Democrat Andre Carson, Republican John Elrod, and Libertarian Sean Shepard. District 87 Democratic candidate for state representative Pam Hickman also spoke during the community sharing portion of the meeting.
The next public meeting of the BRVA will be on April 15, 2008, at 7pm at the Indianapolis Art Center. The March meeting will be replaced by the Town Hall meeting at Broad Ripple High School.

Candidate Andre Carson
Candidate Andre Carson
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Candidate John Elrod
Candidate John Elrod
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State Representative Pam Hickman
State Representative Pam Hickman
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Candidate Sean Shepard
Candidate Sean Shepard
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