INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Downtown Indianapolis is losing a landmark restaurant and a bar. The Bourbon Street Distillery on Indiana Avenue found greatness in its plainness. The bar is shutting down.
For almost 15 years, Bourbon St. thrived in the shadow of a glitzy downtown. More than a restaurant and a bar, the Bourbon Street Distillery was a feeling, an atmosphere, something you can't design or build. It just happens.
A bartender asked Tom Hanley, "What’s your first memory of Bourbon Street?"
"My first memory of Bourbon Street, I played in a co-ed kickball league," he answered. "This was our Tuesday night spot."
It's been a favorite spot for executives, college students, and blue collar workers - lots of different people after the same thing.
Bryan Harbert enjoyed a last beer with a few friends. "I feel like you leave the cares outside, the worries outside. You are encapsulated here," he said.
Inside, it's gritty, a little dark and unpolished.
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Amy Counts loved it. "The laid-back atmosphere. You don't see that anymore in the new and modern places. It's going to be missed."
A lot of the employees have been here since the place opened. Customers, they said, are more than that.
Laura Reuter, a waitress, looked around the bar. "We love our customers. They are like family," she explained. "We look forward to seeing them, what's going on with them what's up with them."
Katie Bray joined the family business when she turned 21. Now she's the adult in charge.
"A lot of staff has been here for 10 to 13 years. It is really a second family to my family," she said.
Bourbon Street stood the test of time, but faced a challenge standing up to new competitors.
"When the place opened, there weren't that may bars and restaurants on Mass Avenue. Fountain Square wasn't a thing yet. There are so many more things now," Bray said.
Another thing to be missed is the made-from-scratch, less-than-heart-healthy food. The massive tenderloin sandwich is the stuff legendary lunches are made with. They sold hundreds of them and ran out before the lunch hour was over. More arrived early in the afternoon. They would be ready for Bourbon Street's last supper.
