CARMEL, Ind. — Sun King Brewery, a leader in the independent craft beer movement in Indiana, is excited to announce the four independently-operated, local restaurants that will fill the modern day food hall that will be located inside its Carmel, Ind. tap room and distillery scheduled to open this summer: BEAST, La Margarita, Oca and Pi.
Sun King’s food hall will feature four, 100-square-foot food stalls designed to invoke the spirit of the Monon Railway inside the 15,000-square-foot tap room. Each unit will house a small kitchen, service counter and menu boards. Following are descriptions of the restaurant concepts and menu offerings:
- BEAST: Offering gourmet burgers and hand-cut fries crafted with quality, locally-sourced ingredients. The Sun King Carmel tap room and distillery will be BEAST’s first brick-and-mortar location; BEAST previously operated a food truck. Among the menu items will be the Game Changer burger featuring a quarter pound of Fischer Farms beef, Chinese five-spice seasoning, cookie butter and spicy Asian slaw on a toasted brioche bun.
- La Margarita: Currently operates a location in Indianapolis’ Fountain Square neighborhood offering bright, simple, delicious Mexican food including tacos, salads, burritos, homemade salsas and daily specials. Among the menu items will be chorizo tacos featuring Mexican ground sausage, creamed corn poblano aioli, queso fresco, cilantro and onion, served on blue corn tortillas.
- Oca: This is the second Oca restaurant to open in a Sun King Tap Room (the first is located in Sun King’s Indianapolis Tap Room). Developed by Chris Eley, owner of Indianapolis’ Goose the Market and Smoking Goose, this new Oca menu includes snacks like soft Bavarian pretzels with pimento beer cheese and charcuterie tasting boards as well as unique sausages and sandwiches. Fans of Chris’ Batali sandwich, named one of the country’s best by Bon Appetit magazine, will be delighted to find this masterpiece on Oca’s menu which includes three types of house salumi, spicy pickled vegetables, tomato preserves and provolone. Traditional South African beef sausage, salmon lox, roasted curtido pork loin, and lamb bacon are a few of the housemade provisions starring in Oca’s sandwich and sausage line up.
- Pi: Currently operates a food truck offering handcrafted, brick-oven pizza and seasonal salads. Among the menu items will be the Indiana Corn Pi featuring garlic sauce, sausage, corn, spinach, caramelized onions, jalapeños, and mozzarella and provolone cheese.
“Food halls are a growing trend throughout the U.S., where the number of them grew by nearly 40 percent in 2016,” said Clay Robinson, co-founder of Sun King Brewery. “Think of our new food hall like a food court in the mall – but totally modernized with local, independent restaurants serving diverse, fresh food quickly. The entire experience is meant to provide a destination where friends can gather to enjoy fresh, handcrafted beers and cocktails paired with fresh, handcrafted meals.”
While all menu items will complement Sun King’s craft beer and signature cocktail menu, chefs from each of the restaurants have a few initial menu pairing recommendations:
- BEAST plans to use Sunlight Cream Ale in its Smokey Beer Cheese featured on its BEAST Burger and in its Mac & Cheese.
- La Margarita plans to offer an Ensalada Mixta which pairs well with Sunlight Cream Ale and Osiris Pale Ale. The salad features mixed greens, three citrus vinaigrette, pickled red onion, cherry tomato, queso fresco, pepitas, and adobo-grilled Miller Amish chicken breast.
- Oca plans to offer Beef Boerewors Sausage with creamed corn, fried onions and tomato relish, an ideal pairing with Wee Mac Scottish Ale. Pair Oca’s griddled sandwich of roasted Curtido pork loin, Salame Cotto, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard with Osiris Pale Ale.
- Pi plans to offer its sweet and salty Figgy Piggy Pi (garlic sauce, bacon, prosciutto, fig jam, mushrooms, goat cheese, arugula and sea salt), which pairs best with Sunlight Cream Ale.
“We’ve been working with the good people of Sun King for many years at events, catering and private parties, and we’ve enjoyed their company, crowds, reception and, yes, their cervezas,” said Jon Carlos Rangel, owner of La Margarita. “La Margarita spent many years on the north side before heading to Fountain Square in late 2011. To have the opportunity to open a restaurant collaboratively with Sun King in Carmel, with a company we’ve worked with for nearly a decade, is really exciting.”
Sun King’s Carmel tap room and distillery, overlooking the Monon Greenway, is projected to open on July 2nd, 2018 and will produce high-quality, handcrafted, small-batch spirits such as artisan moonshine, agave spirit, gin and rum, an aged, small-batch whiskey and seasonal spirits that will be available at limited times throughout the year. The tap room will offer a wide variety of Sun King beers on thirty-two taps, as well as unique, handcrafted cocktails made with fresh, local and regional ingredients whenever possible. Customers will be able to purchase beer, spirits and Sun King’s unique mixers to-go from the tap room and distillery in order to recreate and enjoy Sun King’s unique creations at home.
Drawing inspiration from Indiana, Sun King has produced more than 500 different beers since 2009, dozens of which have been awarded national and international medals.
About Sun King Brewery
Sun King Brewing Company is the brainchild of Dave Colt and Clay Robinson. With the help of family and friends – Omar Robinson, Andy Fagg and Steve Koers – the first keg of Sun King beer rolled out the door for delivery in July 2009. Now available on tap and in cans throughout Indiana, Illinois and Louisville, Ky., Sun King has grown into a leader in the independent craft brewing movement. Sun King’s brewers hand craft core, seasonal and specialty beers that have been rewarded with multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup, and Indiana Brewers Cup competitions. Sun King also partners with hundreds of community organizations throughout Indiana in order to help them raise awareness and funds for great causes. Visit www.sunkingbrewing.com for more information. Sun King Brewery is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.