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A former downtown watering hole, one-time movie set and possible namesake of a local gangster is being revived.
The J. Pierpont restaurant and bar, a fixture of downtown's sparse dining scene in the 1980s, will reopen by early April as an Irish pub. It's name and location, 148 E. Market St., won't change.
The Acorn Group recently leased the 7,000-square-foot, two-story space to three partnersKevin McCarty, Marcia Sommers and Tom Combs. According to McCarty, owner of Phoenix Financial Mortgage Co., the trio would like to open the restaurant in time for the NCAA Final Four, scheduled for April 1-3 in Indianapolis.
McCarty, a former downtown bartender, said the east side of Monument Circle needs more restaurants. "As far as I know there are no Irish pubs downtown and there are no real upscale restaurants or bars within the City-County building area," he said.
Though most of the downtown
social scene has shifted south and west in recent years, East Market Street can still draw a crowd, said Jim Poat, owner of the Legal Beagle at 20 N. Delaware St.
"The City-County Building still has several thousand people that have to eat lunch," he said, adding that business during Pacer games remains strong even though MSA is no longer in use.
Steve Delaney, a restaurant specialist with The Linder Co., said the location could pose some problems. "I have showed [that...