Thursday, July 28, 2011

Concerned About Kilroy's

Kilroy's is a popular bar and grill that started out in Bloomington and also has a location in downtown Indianapolis. It now wants to open up another one in the heart of Broad Ripple, but it's encountering a problem.

Zoning ordinances and regulations specify that, depending on the size of a business (and what the business does), it must provide a certain amount of on-site parking. The proposed location for Kilroy's, where the Cardinal Fitness Center currently is, wants to turn the parking lot by Cardinal Fitness into an outdoor dining area. According to zoning regulations, it needs over 100 spaces. Kilroy's is promising just over 30 spaces,and is seeking a waiver for the rest. I imagine most of those spaces will be occupied by employees, with maybe a select few being reserved for those with disability placards/plates and for take-out orders.

A waiver is very common in Broad Ripple. Many businesses have no parking for their customers, and they often have no control over the parking lots that are located nearby.

My concern about Kilroy's, however, comes from a different perspective.

I'm a white male in his 20s who does frequent the bars, mostly in Broad Ripple but sometimes elsewhere. I play pool with friends and sometimes enjoy a couple of drinks. But I wouldn't fit in in an establishment like Kilroy's.

Kilroy's is the type of place where drinking, and drinking to excess, is encouraged and practically required. In the wake of the Lauren Spierer disappearance, it was revealed that, over the last 9 months, the three Kilroy's locations in Bloomington were responsible for 50% of the underage drinking citations written up by the Indiana State Excise Police. I'm all for re-thinking our laws concerning alcohol and the legal age to drink and all that, but until that happens, businesses have an obligation to follow the law. And I don't think Kilroy's is the type of establishment that even tries. People with fake IDs know that if there's one place that'll let them in, it's Kilroy's.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in Broad Ripple, I also know that most residents don't particularly mind the massive amounts of bars in the area. But what they do mind is waking up Sunday morning only to find that their neighborhood is covered in trash and smashed beer bottles.

I don't know if I'm ready to advocate against Kilroy's new location, but I would like to warn my Broad Ripple friends to keep a careful watch. Remember, it's your community. Sure, all of Indianapolis (arguably, much of central Indiana) enjoys it, but you have to live there day in and day out. Give Kilroy's a chance to demonstrate they can run a responsible business. And if they can't demonstrate that, then hold their feet to the fire.

4 comments:

  1. Of course, once they're "there" they're "there." The issue isn't that it's a bar, it's that it's 'another' bar in a sea of bars. and if you let Broad Ripple be defined by only its bar destinations, you lose a lot of the character of the place. The fact that the neighborhood spent a lot of time preparing a development plan for itself, with huge neighborhood input, ought to decide the issue.

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  2. Exactly. I think the residents and businesses of Broad Ripple should have a say in what goes on in Broad Ripple. It really doesn't need Generic Bar #11 (though several of the bars do provide good character and contribute to the diversity) or Bank Location #13.

    A frequent reader of mine suggested I check out the Kilroy's downtown location to see how it operates and see if my opinion changes. Once I get paid Friday, I might have to do that.

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  3. The person that wrote this article should just stop. You sound like some sorry liberal pussy that needs to learn your place in this world. There are already numerous bars in Broad Ripple and I dont think another bar will be a problem except with the bars that call Broad Ripple home. Kilroys will be a smash hit and if you are concerned with how the bars are ran in Bloomington then you will be happy to know that the Kilroys in Indianapolis and the potential one in Broadripple isn't ran by the same family as the bars in Bloomington.

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  4. At least this "liberal pussy" has the cajones to put his name to what he writes. Grow up, man.

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