Broad Ripple's Fall Openings Keep Moving. Moody's Picked a Weekend.

Baby Tiger, the zero-proof drinks spot planned for 6513 N. College Ave., said in May it hoped to open by mid-to-late June. By late September, its estimate had become "Fall 2026."

That slide fits the whole season in the Village. The businesses that left did so on dates you could circle. Most of the ones on the way give a month, a season or a year. The clearest arrival on the calendar is a butcher shop moving down from 86th Street, and its target is the last weekend of October, which this year means Halloween weekend.

The Exits Had Exact Dates

Two of summer's departures were specific and quick:

• Condado Tacos closed its original Indianapolis-area restaurant at 838 Broad Ripple Ave. on July 5, after nearly eight years there, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.
• Brick House Dueling Pianos, open since 2014, announced in August that it would close later that month after 12 years, as WTHR and IBJ reported. Both came with an exact date or a month you could pin down. Gina's Juice Bar has also left its Broad Ripple storefront, and INDYtoday gives no date for that closing, only a fall 2026 estimate for reopening in the Factory Arts District. The list of what's moving into these blocks reads very differently.

The Arrivals Have Seasons

These dates come from INDYtoday's September 28 restaurant roundup, plus the earlier announcements it updates.

Several of these places look worth the wait. Baby Tiger is going in next to Northside Kitchenette. Owner Nicole Harlan-Oprisu, who also runs Northside Social and Delicia, told Random Ripplings it will serve house-made zero-proof drinks, nonalcoholic beer and wine, blended refreshers, dirty sodas and matcha. It will be open Thursday through Saturday only. Plan for those three days once it opens.

Birrieria Iturbidense's dates need a closer look. Angel Cuevas and Jasmin Martinez started it as a food truck in 2021. In October 2025, the IBJ reported that their 2,000-square-foot restaurant at 823 Broad Ripple Ave. was scheduled to open Oct. 21 of that year. The menu runs from tacos and mulitas with consommé for dipping to birria ramen, egg rolls, pizza and sliders. Almost a year later, INDYtoday's roundup still lists the same address under October openings. Check the restaurant's own social accounts before you drive over for dinner.

Hamilton Walker's, a steakhouse from Champaign, Illinois, has the longest wait. The IBJ reported in July that it will take about 8,000 square feet at the base of the Broad Ripple parking garage, which Keystone Group is folding into its Marko on the Canal apartment development. An early-2027 estimate means the former HopCat corner will stay dark through the holidays.

The Salvation Army's planned Sally's Station Store & Donation Center, described as a "higher end" thrift store, follows the same pattern. The IBJ reported in August that it is expected to open later this year in a space a local brewery used to occupy. Again, that's a season with no date.

Of everything on INDYtoday's list for the Village, only one place is confirmed open: Vintage Spoon Ice Cream Social, which opened in September at 6528 Cornell Ave. The Geist favorite serves 28 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream along with shaved ice, fudge, candy and nostalgic toys.

Moody's Named Its Weekend

Moody's Butcher Shop stands out because it said when. Its Nora page says the shop is leaving 1764 E. 86th St. for a larger store at 6434 N. College Ave., Suite C. "We're aiming for the last weekend of October," it says, and promises opening-weekend details soon. This year the last weekend of October is Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1.

The shop says the same crew is coming along and the same products will be on the shelves, "and even some more." The new spot has a large parking lot with two entrances directly on College Avenue. Off-street parking is rare along that stretch, and it makes a weekly stop for steaks or a Sunday roast easier to fit into a Village errand run.

The bigger change is on the counter. The IBJ reported that the Broad Ripple store plans to sell hot food to go, a first for the four-store chain. That puts it in a different role than the Nora shop played. It now competes for weeknight dinner as well as the weekend grocery list.

For Nora regulars, the move means the 86th Street storefront is closing. Moody's describes the move as "leveling up, not going away."

The Dates You Can Put on a Calendar

Here are the fixed dates in and around the Village over the next few weeks, in order:

1. Oct. 22–24: Hauntless Halloween at Holliday Park. Families walk candlelit trails and meet talking forest creatures played by actors from Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. Afterward there's a campfire, refreshments and activities at the nature center. It runs 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10 per person, children 2 and under are free, and you need to register in advance for a specific timeslot. Hikes leave every 10 minutes, and the Holliday Park Foundation says timeslots fill quickly.
2. Late October: a self-imposed deadline for a Broad Ripple apartment proposal. In August, the IBJ reported that a local developer gave itself until late October to address residents' concerns before going ahead with a mixed-use project of almost 100 apartments.
3. Oct. 30: Proposals due for the former fire station. The City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development issued a request for proposals on July 24 for 834 E. Westfield Blvd., the former IFD Station 32.
4. Oct. 31–Nov. 1: Moody's opening target at 6434 N. College Ave.
5. Nov. 4, 1 p.m.: The city opens the fire station proposals.

The fire station could matter most over time, and it also has the clearest process. According to the IBJ's August report, the city's request lists a wide range of possible uses for the 104-year-old building, including offices, retail, personal and professional services, artisan manufacturing and food production. Nov. 4 is when the city opens the proposals, so it will show who wants the building. It is not the date a decision is made.

Through the end of the year, the reliable way to know whether a new Broad Ripple spot is open is to check that business's own channels the day you plan to go.

Ann tracks storefront changes like these because they shape how a block feels day to day, well before they show up anywhere else. If you're curious how the Village's next round of openings might play into your own plans, or you just want to compare notes on what's new along College Avenue, Ann Williams Erickson is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.