Drew Brees-backed Walk-On's opening in troubled bar spot, bringing sports, Cajun eats

Todd Johnson hopes that the latest restaurant to arrive on South Meridian Street spruces up the downtown area’s reputation.

A while ago his building at 247 S. Meridian St. was home to a couple of spots that Indianapolis police deemed troubled.

On Monday — with the street-level opening of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, the Cajun cuisine-focused brand co-owned by football great Drew Brees — Johnson is looking to showcase a family-friendly offering in the area.

Johnson has partnered with financial advisor Wade Kornblith and Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker to open the first Walk-On’s in Indy.

Johnson also opened Park & Rec on the second floor in March, and come June will open a pub/events center on the third floor.

It’s all meant to turn around an area of downtown that has suffered from concerns about safety, Johnson said.

A graduate of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Johnson talked to IndyStar ahead of the May 15 grand opening of Walk-On’s and the role he expects it to play in the downtown entertainment arena.

The sports theme moves across all three levels of the building.

The Walk-On’s franchise is one of three concepts at the building.  The other two are independents owned by Johnson.

He opened Park & Rec on the building’s second floor in March. It’s a 21-and-over spot with live bands, dueling pianos, karaoke and an arcade that includes Skee-Ball and Pop-A-Shot games.

His Showbar pub and event center will open on the third floor in June. The main event space there holds about 400 people. A small theater for viewing UFC fights and games will seat about 45.

Johnson isn’t new to the Indianapolis hospitality scene.

A graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, Johnson has owned bars and restaurants in Indiana since 1991 and operates places in Fort Myers, Florida. He currently owns Mucky Duck on the south side of Indianapolis. He’s owned Billiard Cafe; Spin Nightclub in Broad Ripple and several clubs catering to African-American and Hispanic clientele in Indianapolis; was a Scotty’s Brewhouse franchisee; and operated tiki bars in Florida, where he currently lives.

“My niche business has been rehabbing and facilitating businesses and starting new ones. I've done high-end nightclubs. I've done restaurants. I've done pubs," said Johnson, 57, a former rep for the Maker’s Mark whiskey brand.

Johnson never intended to operate a restaurant or bar downtown

The place was full when he bought the building in 2019.

“I was just the landlord. I bought it strictly as an investment deal and just to be a landlord. I had no aspirations to do anything down there,” he said.

The After 6 nightclub had been on the first floor. It closed in September 2022.

Taps and Dolls on the second floor and 247 Sky Bar on the third floor, both owned by Ryan Greb, closed in August 2022.  The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission denied Taps and Dolls' liquor license renewal in March 2022. Police had said the bar had been a source of continual problems, including fights, overdoses and the stabbing of a 17-year-old girl.

Also next door, Tiki Bob's Cantina voluntarily closed days after the publication of an IndyStar investigation that highlighted how state regulators allowed the bar to remain open despite continued violence and underage drinking; and one day before owners were to appear at a hearing to renew their liquor license.

“When I saw my property being on the national news for having problems and making Indianapolis look like a bad place with shootings, crime sprees, overdoses and whatnot; it was not something that I felt like I should sit back and just let happen and collect a rent check. I morally didn't think that was correct,” Johnson said. “I wanted to put my money where my mouth was and didn't want to just rent it out to somebody else to try and do the same thing.”

He said he's invested about $5 million into getting the building, constructed in 1868, ready; half of that for Walk-On’s. Most of that money has gone to local vendors and businesses, Johnson said.

“I want to bring a renaissance back to downtown,” he said. “It's a great area with great people.”

The Indianapolis Walk-On’s opening will mark the first time in 25 years that the space will be open to customers during the day.

There's a large bar and 70-some screens, but Walk-On’s boasts a scratch kitchen.

The menu includes alligator bites, blackened chicken, seared ahi tuna, crawfish etouffee and a bread pudding made with Krispy Kreme doughnuts; and it’s moderately priced. The $13 buffalo chicken sandwich has two chicken breasts, giving the diner the option of taking one of the pieces for a later meal, Johnson said.

Patrons at Park & Rec will be able to order Walk-On's food to be served on the second level.

The general manager is Eddie Zelikovich, formerly of Eddie Merlot’s, and the executive kitchen manager is Pferron Morrow, a former chef at Top Golf.

The site will employ more than 200 people, Johnson said, and is still seeking hosts, barbacks, bussers, bartenders, servers and kitchen workers.

Indy's Walk-On's is 74th and northernmost restaurant for Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company

There is already a location, run by Aramark, on the campus of Purdue University.

Although the chain has plenty of gridiron connections, what with Brees’ ownership and franchisees such as Clemson University football coach Dabo Swinney and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Walk-On’s has its genesis in Louisiana State University basketball.

It was founded in 2003 by Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, a pair of walk-ons for the men’s basketball team. They opened the first location near LSU’s football stadium. Former Purdue University quarterback Brees joined as an owner in 2015 while with the New Orleans Saints.

Being located near Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium and Victory Field as well as the Indiana Convention Center gives the spot a chance to pull in families headed to and from sporting events and activities who can’t dine at a lot of the over-21 restaurant-bar combos that populate the area, Johnson said.

“I'm a big believer in investing in my community and I'm just trying to see this area become a renaissance area. Families are starting to come back to Indianapolis for sporting events ... So it's just a really neat, neat concept," he said.

Walk-On's has a kid's menu and a mini arcade area with claw machines, Golden Tee and other games.

More Walk-On’s are on the way.

Johnson and his Trident Hospitality Group team — all neighbors in Tampa, Florida — plan to open 20 restaurants in the Midwest, with one in Clarksville, Indiana, being next on deck. Under consideration are Bloomington and Columbus, Cincinnati and Louisville, as well as north-side and west-side Indianapolis locations over the next two years.

“We're going to do a lot of second-generation stuff, taking over places that either got hit by COVID or they got shrunk up in the recession or whatever. I'm trying to rehab existing structures,” he said. “We're trying to find properties that we can give a fresh life to.”

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, 247 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, walkons.com, will operate from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter:@cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis restaurants: Drew Brees-backed Walk-On's opens downtown