101 Beer Kitchen
Fishers District Eatery Offers Unique Menu & a Family-Friendly Atmosphere
Writer / Jon Shoulders
Photographer / Michael Durr
Its a bit tricky to characterize the concept behind 101 Beer Kitchen at the Fishers District. And co-owner Jess Kittrell is OK with that.
Weve tried to create a family-friendly place that is still exciting and charming enough for date nights and young professionals. Were a restaurant first, and then we strive to have a really great bar program too, says Kittrell, who co-owns the restaurant chain with her husband Thad, a Muncie native.
With the food, some of it might sound a little bit different, but we dont push it so much that we risk alienating our guests with a bunch of things on the menu that are confusing, she adds. We try to offer a few flavor combinations that maybe customers havent tried before. We want it to have that feel of comfort food at the same time.
Much of the 101 Beer Kitchen food selection rotates quarterly, along with about 10 items that stay on the menu year-round. Youll find pizza, sandwiches, salads and entrees like pecan crusted chicken, harissa roasted cauliflower and peppercorn hanger steak.
Since much of the menu rotates, its very much supposed to be what youre craving, when youre craving it, Kittrell says. Weve learned that the Indy crowd loves their shrimp and grits. Theres been lots of activity on social media for that, and thats been fun. Many of the dishes we offer are things Thad has made at home for years, like the green chili thats been on the meu. Thats a family favorite with us.
The drink menu includes a wide range of cocktails in addition to wines and beers.
The Kittrells currently operate three 101 Beer Kitchen locations in Central Ohio, and three years ago began considering Central Indiana for their next 101 Beer Kitchen spot.
Fishers and the northside are growing so much that it made sense to come here, and we have family and professional contacts in the area, so it made more sense to come here next, rather than the Cleveland or Cincinnati markets. The demographics of the north Indianapolis suburbs meet up with our concept very well.
In the summer of 2018, the couple settled on Fishers to open up shop and began construction on the space in September of that year. December of 2019 saw the Fishers grand opening, which Kittrell says was hectic but worth the hard work.
Jess and Thad met while working together in the restaurant industry in Ohio. Thad was an established chef at the time, and Jess was working toward a degree in finance.
We loved working together and made a great right-brain, left-brain team, Kittrell says. We knew that one day wed want to do something on our own.
After noticing what Kittrell describes as a void in the Central Ohio suburban restaurant market, the pair decided to launch their own concept.
When we wanted to go out to eat with our kids, we wanted high-quality food with a high-quality craft beverage program but at a place that we still felt comfortable taking out kids too, Kittrell explains. On the flip side, for date night we wanted a place near the suburbs where we lived so we wouldnt have 30 minutes of driving each way to go eat downtown.
The restaurant name is a nod to Jess and Thads educational approach to the restaurant business and what Kittrell describes as the couples dedication to pairing food and beverages together.
We try to educate our team on pairings and take the approach that two things together are better than one individually, she says. Its not about a right or a wrong way to eat and drink, its just about learning about the things you like and coming up with a perfect pairing for you. We want each item to be carefully considered, but without the pretense that a lot of places have. We dont want to be one of those places where customers dont understand a word on the menu.
The couple hopes to open a 101 Beer Kitchen location in Carmel in the future.
The reception has been fantastic in Fishers, and were excited to have more presence in Central Indiana, Kittrell says.
101 Beer Kitchen is located at 9708 District North Drive in Fishers. Call 317-537-2041 and visit 101beerkitchen.com for more information.
