By Victoria T Davis of Indianapolis Recorder
Earlier this week I found a hidden gem along 52nd Street and Winthrop Avenue, sitting right off the Monon Trail, which used to house railroad tracks: Bent Rail Brewery, open since February. The 12,000-square-foot building is misplaced, off in the cut and surrounded by many homes, but that didn’t stop my exploration.
The building didn’t look much like a restaurant at all, except for the nameplate and lit “open” sign. Although I was a bit turned off initially by the odd first impression, I decided to go inside anyway and was instantly greeted with a wide-open floor plan, not a wall in sight beside the structure’s foundation. Really odd.
I was welcomed with a friendly smile by the employee who would later be my server, who instructed me to find a seat. Lots of metal chairs and tables covered with brown paper occupied the massive floor plan, and the bar area was sectioned off by a silver metal railing. Through my own research I discovered many of the furnishings in the restaurant were made from repurposed materials found lying around the property. I also learned the 1947 building sat vacant for almost 10 years before Bent Rail called it home… CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
