INDIANAPOLIS — Black market at the end of Mass Ave. is one of the latest restaurants to announce they will be closing their doors for good. The owner said the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is too much to overcome.
In just over a week, people will see a lot more locked doors and people peering inside. Rook on Virginia Avenue and Black Market on Mass Ave. are both in their final days of operation.
"It's really sad, you know, I'm a big fan of the food and the culinary scene in the neighborhood," Josh Brown, an Indianapolis resident, said.
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People around downtown on Friday said they've been trying to support local businesses.
"I haven't really sat down to eat anywhere but I have been doing carryout from some of the places that I frequented a lot before the pandemic," Brown said.
"We love going down to Black Market. We've been there a couple times," Rachael Guerin, an Indianapolis resident, said. "They have a great back patio, that pergola is awesome. They've always had really great food and drinks."
In a Facebook post, the owner, Ed Rudisell, said the federal payroll protection loans were not a good fit for the restaurant industry. He also said insurance companies were refusing to pay the costs incurred when restaurants were shut down because of the pandemic.
All of this ultimately led to the closures.
"It's unfortunate," Brown said. "A lot of the businesses and things like that that we are all used to supporting and people that we are used to seeing that we are not seeing as much anymore."
People downtown said they hope this is not the start of a larger trend.
"If that is the trend I would certainly be really sad to see it," Guerin said. "That's one of my favorite things about Indy is the local restaurants and food."
