INDIANAPOLIS — The Broad Ripple neighborhood experienced a brutal 2023, with several shootings and lingering construction on its main street. Business owners there hope 2024 brings better days for the entertainment district.
"We're ready for you to come back," said Patrick Sparks, who has owned Brick House Piano Bar for nearly a decade. "Come back to us. We need your support and we need your business."
Broad Ripple bars will likely see a lot of their customers come back for New Year's Eve celebrations Sunday night.
"There's a lot of different kinds of bars here, so it's fun," said Chris Good, who visited Kilroy's Bar & Grill in Broad Ripple on Friday night. "I think I will be here for New Year's Eve."
Sparks said the business is needed more than ever. He claims Brick House lost $200,000 in 2023 due to both construction on Broad Ripple Avenue and violence in the district.
The tipping point came in June, when three people died in a shooting during the early morning hours.
He said business owners are working together to make the neighborhood safer going into 2024, including employing off-duty cops on busy weekend nights.
"We're working really hard," Sparks said. "We meet once a month to get Broad Ripple back to the way it used to be. We like it here."
IMPD has also increased patrols since the deadly shooting in June.
Good considers himself a Broad Ripple regular. He believes visitors should not have to worry about safety.
"If you come out and do your own thing and not get in trouble, you're not going to have trouble," Good said. "You have to go looking for trouble if you're trying to find it. It's pretty simple."
Sparks hopes that trouble stays far away from Broad Ripple in the New Year.
"We'd love to have you back," Sparks said.
