Downtown Carmel's New Holiday Stops Have Indianapolis Roots

On the corner of 110 W. Main St., the dining room that served French food under the name Josephine now serves Italian under a name Indianapolis diners have known since 1979. A few blocks east, at 22 N. Range Line Rd., a children's bookstore that spent 40 years on Illinois Street has added a Carmel address. Over at Carmel City Center, a pub group that started at 86th and Ditch in 1995 is fitting out a former retail space for an early-December opening.

Several of the new names on downtown Carmel's holiday route this year are Indianapolis institutions opening second locations in Carmel's busiest blocks. Meanwhile, the brewery whose regulars stop in from the Monon Greenway is packing up for a spot a mile north.

Three Indianapolis originals, three Carmel addresses

Here's how the new arrivals line up, from the oldest original to the newest.

Ambrosia took over the room from its own sister concept. Current in Carmel reported in August that Josephine would serve through Aug. 23, and that owner Ambrosia Hospitality Group would then turn the 5,162-square-foot space into a second Ambrosia. That same space was The Pint Room until late 2023. In an Instagram post quoted by Current, the family called the change "a return to our roots." Josephine had opened there only in early 2025. So the corner has had three concepts in about three years, and the newest one is the oldest name of the three.

Kids Ink Books belongs to Wendy Fitzgerald and her daughter, Kate Fitzgerald, who bought the Illinois Street store in June 2025. Speaking to Current in Carmel, Wendy said she was "personally surprised there's not already an indie bookstore in that downtown area." The Carmel shop splits its floor 50-50 with Rock-A-Toy, a line of handmade baby gifts and heirloom toys from Carmel resident Idil Asik. The owners gave tentative hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, and said those could change.

Taylor's Bar & Table is the newest concept from Taylor's Restaurant Group, which opened its first Bar & Table in Ingalls in 2022. Its Carmel location goes into the former Aroma Experience space at Carmel City Center. Half the room will be family dining and the other half a 21-and-over bar. Group President Clinton Hiatt told Current in Carmel that the space will be "something people won't expect from Taylor's." He said the group is aiming for the first part of December, possibly in time for Christkindlmarkt visitors.

The Monon taproom that's moving out of the center

As those names move in, Union Brewing Company is moving out. The brewery plans to stay at 202 Gradle Dr. until its lease runs out Nov. 28, then reopen about a week later at 513 Industrial Dr., roughly a mile north. Current in Carmel reported that Union Brewing is one of dozens of tenants in two buildings on the northwest corner of Gradle Drive and the Monon Greenway whose leases aren't being renewed while the site is readied for redevelopment.

Brewer Derek Herring told Current that many customers walk or bike over from the Monon. He also explained why the new spot ended up off the trail:

"We're the antithesis of Carmel. We're not here to bash Carmel by any means. We understand what they're doing, but it's a struggle for small businesses like ourselves to find our spot here. I think we found a great spot."

In the same piece, Herring said vacancies in Carmel are limited and rents are pricey. That's the same market where an Indianapolis restaurant family, a 30-year pub group and a 40-year bookstore found room this year. Each of those three arrived with an established brand to bring with it.

The move also changes what Union Brewing is. Owners Jessica Hayden and Herring say the Industrial Drive space will double the brewery's size, with a family-friendly dining area, an upstairs mezzanine above a stage for bigger live music acts, and a subleased chef selling food such as barbecue and homemade flatbreads. Herring said they plan a "big, awesome party" to close out Gradle Drive and another in the spring for the new space. That gives anyone with a Monon habit a deadline. The last round at the trailside taproom comes by Nov. 28.

One local rebrand in the middle of it

Not every change downtown came from outside. At 110 W. Main St., Suite 106, the same building as Ambrosia, the former Bober Tea & Mochi Dough franchise is now Bobalato & Mochi Co. Co-owner Aparna Prasad told Current the owners wanted more freedom to shape the concept. The menu now goes past bubble tea to freshly churned gelato, specialty coffee, sundaes and sandwiches. Put dinner at Ambrosia and gelato next door in one building, and Main Street makes a complete evening plan without moving the car.

How the calendar stacks up from here

Most of these stops come together over the next few weeks, alongside the city's own holiday events. Here's the order, starting today:

1. Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 to 7 p.m. The Indiana Design Center hosts a free Holiday Design Open House with hors d'oeuvres, specialty cocktails and a live DJ. America's Floor Source announced a 3,220-square-foot showroom in the building at 200 S. Rangeline Rd., Suite 118.
2. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 to 8 p.m., through December. Kids Ink takes two-hour private shopping bookings at its Carmel store. Groups need at least six shoppers, a $500 pre-tax merchandise minimum and a $100 deposit, which goes onto a Kids Ink gift card.
3. Saturday, Nov. 21. The Carmel Christkindlmarkt opens at Carter Green and runs through Dec. 24. The Ice at Carter Green opens the same day, and the city's Holiday Trolley runs from 2 to 9 p.m.
4. Saturday, Nov. 28. Shop Small, Shop Carmel runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for Small Business Saturday, with businesses in Carmel's central districts and the Village of West Clay taking part. The Holiday Trolley runs again from 2 to 9 p.m. It's also Union Brewing's last scheduled day on Gradle Drive.
5. Early December. Taylor's Bar & Table is targeting its opening at Carmel City Center, and Union Brewing hopes to reopen on Industrial Drive about a week after it leaves Gradle.

The quieter stretch is the nine days from tonight's open house to Nov. 21, before the huts and the rink go up. In that window, the Range Line bookstore, the Main Street dining room and the City Center shops are all reachable without competing for market-day parking.

The City Center shops that anchor the route

Taylor's will open in a courtyard that already has a deep bench of local gift shops. The merchants listed for the Nov. 7 Holiday Preview Sip & Shop give a good picture of who's there: Addendum MacKenzie-Childs, Linden Tree Gifts, Kits & Kaboodle Classic Toys, Lily & Sparrow Boutique, Little Tulip Tree, Out of the Blue Polish Pottery, Fringe & Form, 317Home, Hey Little Diddle Child, Bath Junkie, The AromaRoom, Flavor Bridge Snack & Beverage and The Cake Bake Shop. Kits & Kaboodle Classic Toys and Hey Little Diddle Child give City Center its own children's stops, and the new Kids Ink and Rock-A-Toy floor on Range Line adds another nearby.

Kids Ink also runs a "Holiday Shopping That Gives Back" program. A school or nonprofit sets up a shopping code, and 10% of tagged purchases goes back to that organization. For a PTO or a youth league looking for a December fundraiser that runs itself, that's a booking worth making before the Christkindlmarkt weekends fill the calendar.

Downtown Carmel looks a little different every holiday season, and keeping track of those changes is part of how our team knows this community. If this season's changes have you thinking about where your family wants to be when next year's huts go up, the Stacy Barry Team is happy to talk through it with you over coffee on Main Street. Schedule a Free Home Consultation whenever the timing suits you.