LONGTIME INDY ESTABLISHMENT OPENS WESTFIELD LOCATION Writer / Seth Johnson Photographer / Eli Beaverson
If you’re in search of a bar where everybody knows your name, look no further than Joe’s Grille, which opened in Westfield on September 1. “We’re always looking to have that ‘Cheers’ aspect, being that friendly, neighborhood bar,” says Co-owner Ryan Miller. “The bartender knows your name. The bartender knows what you drink before you sit down. The bartender knows about your family. Everybody wants that, and it’s always something that Joe’s is striving for.”
“every job imaginable” in the service industry, Miller was previously a bartender at Joe’s Grille in Castleton for 10 years, before he and business partners Ryan Jones and Ryan Nally were presented with the opportunity to buy the Joe’s Grille Fishers location. The co-owners have now launched a Westfield store, which is the first location they built completely from scratch. “Every time you work somewhere, you realize things about the building that you didn’t like - a sink in the wrong place or a drain in the wrong place,” Miller says. “With this one, we got to go from scratch, so we got to fix all those little things that we’ve learned over the years. We adjusted them to what we actually wanted and what works.”
Located on Spring Mill Road, Joe’s Grille is a neighborhood grill and sports bar, equipped with 40 televisions to make sure patrons never miss their favorite teams. In addition to regular food and drink specials, Miller says there were a few obstacles to deal customers can enjoy pool tables, dartboards, with in opening the new location, the most live entertainment and more. obvious being the coronavirus pandemic. Having worked what he describes as
“This was a 20-month project,” he says.
“When it started out, we thought we’d be open in a year. It ended up taking us an extra eight months to actually get the doors open. COVID was obviously a hurdle in itself.” Since opening their doors in September, however, the response has been positive. “The community has been awesome - we’re so happy to be a part of Westfield,” Miller says. “We’ve actually been inundated by way more guests than we had originally planned this early on.” When it comes to the food menu, Miller says some standouts include the Dagwood sandwich, chicken wings and pizzas. “We’ve kept the same pizza recipe for years, and that’s been really good to us,” he says. “People come in all the time raving about our pizzas.” Miller adds that Joe’s Grille customers should expect their food to be tasty and fresh.
4 / WESTFIELD MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2020 / WestfieldMag.com
