Piedra Mexican Steakhouse Brings Elevated Dining & Cultural Flair to Mass Ave
Photographer / Michael Durr
Paul Arechiga and his brothers moved from Mexico to the Midwest 20 years ago. Each of them pursued different careers — one attending culinary school, another focused on marketing and public relations, and another with a head for business. One day it dawned on them that they were all preparing to work in a different capacity within the restaurant industry, so in 2012 they decided to combine their talents and launch a restaurant named Salsa Verde, a fast-casual taco concept.
“As my brothers and I got older, we wanted to enter into more of a full-service industry that had a bar and more ambience and aesthetics,” Arechiga says, who now owns a total of 15 restaurants in both the Indianapolis and Chicago areas. Some have more of a boutique concept, others are quick in-and-out eateries that also offer catering services, and then there are destination restaurants like Piedra Mexican Steakhouse — the first of its kind, which just opened in October on Mass Avenue.
Arechiga, who also owns Casa Santa, Quesa Tacos, and Verde Flavors of Mexico, says that this location offered a unique opportunity to create an original idea given that the Bottleworks area respects history while also inviting new life in a refreshing, respectable way.
“It would have been easier to just replicate one of our Verde restaurants, but once they told us about what they were doing with the Garage Food Hall, a community hub for all things culinary, we knew we needed to do something different because this project is different,” Arechiga says.
He and his brothers wanted patrons who frequent their other establishments to come to this one and feel a whole other vibe. They were committed to doing what they knew how to do well while challenging themselves to elevate the experience to match the standard in the area, which includes the Bottleworks Hotel, boutique shops, and the Fountain Room.
“Everything is breathtaking, beautiful, and carefully curated,” Arechiga says. “Nothing there has a corporate franchise feel. It’s all unique.”
Arechiga’s other restaurants have more of a coastal vibe with natural elements, wood, and hand-woven lamps. Piedra, on the other hand, has a Mexico City-inspired interior that includes more of a refined aesthetic, with crystals, artisan-welded metals, and stone architecture and tables.
Clientele dictates the direction they take with the menu. There are always favorites that people want, like steak tacos, burritos, and nachos.
“We ask ourselves how we can reinterpret the same burrito, steak taco, or plate of nachos but in a setting for Piedra where we give you more flair,” Arechiga says. “Maybe it’s served with a bit of fire on the plate. You pair that up with a handcrafted margarita and suddenly you have a whole party at your table.”
Arechiga calls combining a traditional steakhouse with a Mexican restaurant a “cool way of merging two worlds.”
“I feel like when you put those two things together, that’s what separates us from everywhere else,” Arechiga says, who realized there was a need for a type of menu that offers complete quality as well as an elevated experience with the best service possible in a beautiful space.
“People work hard and like to treat themselves to the whole show — with fire at the table where we cut steak in front of you,” Arechiga says. “We say, ‘If we can’t bring everyone to Mexico, let’s bring Mexico to the table.’”
Popular dishes served at Piedra include Carne Asada Tampiqueña, which is grilled skirt steak served with poblano rice, refried beans, and a cheese enchilada topped with ranchera sauce. Served in a hot bowl made out of stone and sizzling when it gets to the table, the Molcajete includes chicken, steak, shrimp, and sautéed veggies and comes with Mexican street corn or red rice, beans, and tortillas. Other tasty menu items include the Filete Mignon — an 8-ounce grilled beef tenderloin, marinated and fire-seared, topped with rich mole madre sauce.
The menu is influenced by the fact that the brothers come from a coastal state in Mexico. Hence, they serve a lot of seafood dishes such as Camarones Zarandeados (shrimp), Salmon Zarandeado, Grilled Octopus, and Pescado Frito — golden fried king snapper.
Piedra Mexican Steakhouse, which seats 150, is inside a beautiful two-story building with high ceilings and a mezzanine balcony area that fits about 35 people and looks down into the bar and main dining room.
They focus on creating different experiences for guests each time they dine in. They do this by making sure every table is not the same. For instance, the middle of the bar is surrounded by decorations, while a two-top table in the corner offers a more intimate setting.
“We make sure that every single one of our spaces is special so that wherever you sit you’ll think, ‘I was in here last week, but it feels totally different this time,’” Arechiga says.
Many people dine at Piedra because they are celebrating something special like a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or retirement. This is one of Arechiga’s favorite parts of restaurant ownership — seeing people rejoice during these special moments of their lives.
“We set the table, but our guests add the finishing touch to the restaurant with their celebrations,” Arechiga says. “It’s such a blessing to continue welcoming them.”
They love seeing familiar faces as well as new ones. Soon after opening, they served 15 members of the Colts football team.
Arechiga is pleased by the significant growth he’s seen in the Indy area.
“We see buildings popping up everywhere, which is great,” Arechiga says, who notes that when he first moved to the Midwest, he had friends from Chicago who were always inviting him to nice restaurants there.
Now, however, those friends are traveling to Indianapolis for a fine dining experience.
“We are super proud to be part of that,” he says.
Piedra Mexican Steakhouse is located at 820 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 1331 in Indianapolis. For more information, call 317-492-9940 or visit piedra.restaurant.
