RSS Feed
Email Us
Follow Us
Like Us
Photo Gallery
GeistTV
Jim Henderson is excited to breath some new life into a once-popular Geist hangout.
Pendleton entrepreneur Jim Henderson has been eyeing a place to open a restaurant for years. Owner of the Move Crew and a few PODS franchises, Henderson has been collecting menus from some of his favorite eateries in hopes that one day he could be a restaurateur.
When the Fox Pub & Grill closed last month, a few of the owners stepped off the bus and Henderson stepped on and took the wheel.
“I’m excited for the opportunity, I’ve always wanted to do this,” said Henderson.
To breathe new life into the once thriving local hangout, Henderson enlisted the help of his marketing guru wife Kerrie and hired a new head chef, Jeff Kleindorfer, formerly with Binkley’s Kitchen & Bar in Broad Ripple.
With a completely new kitchen staff and seven returning servers and managers, the Fireside Grill quietly reopened on February 12th to family and friends. One of the first customers was Rich and Kim Shields from Admirals Bay.
“We were headed to El Rodeo and we seen the lights on inside so we decided to give them a try,” said Kim. “Our food was excellent and the staff was friendly. We will be regulars for sure.”
Patrons will notice several changes, most notably the new lounge area surrounding the signature stone fireplace. A new curved stone and dark wood wall separates the now smaller dining area from the larger, thriving bar area.
Even the entrance has changed. The door to the bar area has been closed off forcing all customers to enter into the expanded hostess station and new waiting area to the left. Kerrie explained that this is all part of the new focus on customer service.
“We want everyone to be greeted when they come in here.”
Jeff Kleindorfer brings a new staff and menu to the Fireside Grill.
A southern Indiana native and Maryland culinary school graduate, Kleindorfer has created a new food menu featuring some of his own creations.
“Everything is nicely seasoned,” said Kleindorfer. “I’m from southern Indiana so I like to cook hearty meals.”
New food selections include an Adobo Seared Ahi Tuna appetizer, gourmet personal pizzas, and an expanded entrée selection highlighted by the Fireside bone in pork chop. Soups, salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes round out the new food menu.
The wine menu has also been overhauled. Working with a local wine connoisseur, Henderson revamped the wine selection as well. Thirty-two different wines are available by the bottle ranging in price from $16 to $108. Several selections are available by the glass or half bottle as well.
Perhaps the most notable change is seeing the new owner in the dining area. Kim Shields felt Henderson’s presence “kept everyone on their toes a little more.”
A new kitchen staff, new owner, new food and wine menus, and a new attitude are just what this neighborhood restaurant needed. The Fireside Grill is located at 11705 Fox Road on the southwest corner of Fox and Oaklandon Roads. Reservations are recommended, call 823-1000.
thumbs down…too pretentious for a neighborhood bar.
It would be nice if they posted their phone number or maybe a website, so we can see what kind of menu this supposedly pretentious place serves.
I have mixed feelings about eating here considering how the Fox closed down.
The food was just OK, and the new menu was littered with grammatical and spelling errors. It was however, great to see some old faces!
I loved the new place. The food is wonderful and I saw alot of the old faces that were good hard workers. I love the idea of owners being in there and working with the staff. I think, the new chef is YES!!! I took another couple with us and we loved it. No smoking and great food. I will def be back
Not sure where the other comments are even coming from…we enjoyed a nice dinner there this evening. I highly recommend the Shrimp Cosmopolitan and the pork chop was very tasty. We like the different side options that you can choose from too.
Good food, attentive staff, cozy atmosphere – thumbs up in our book!
We ate there last weekend and the menu was the same. Spoke with the owner and he said it was going to change. The food was awfullllll.
All I noticed was they expanded the bar and took up most of the dining area. Its ok if you want to go to bar but not family dinning.
NOW if you want a GREAT place to eat we just tried a place near Broadripple called ZEST….OMG the food was wonderful. It’s between college and keystone on 54th street. 1 block from mama corollas. Try it out please you’ll love it !!!
Not bad, basically the same place but the bar seems bigger. has plenty of nice TVs and what not,
Disappointing……..We purchased a $50 gift certificate from the Fox right before Christmas, and just tried to use it at the Fireside Grill. Most businesses will honor gift certificates from prior owners, especially if some of the prior owners are present. Any marketing “guru” knows that negative experiences are shared 11 times more than positive experiences. We were frequent visitors at the Fox. The “money out of their pocket” will be a lot more than the $50 they refused to honor.
Pretentious hmm I am a downtown dweller and the word always seemed to fit the Geist stigma this reataraunt is anything but that the food was AWESOME the staff excellant!Great appetizers drinks and entrees!
I’m still upset about the whole episode with the Fox and the former employees. I’m not sure I’ll be patronizing this business.
People should know that the majority of old Fox owners are still a part of the new place! Why would they be in the restaurant buisness still,if they didn’t want to save the 1st one they opened?And to treat the old employee’s like that is so uncalled for.
Shame on you all!
I won’t ever go back.