Latest news with #KingDough

Indianapolis Star
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Who has the best pizza in Indiana? Huge festival on Monument Circle will let you decide
On Aug. 9, only one slice will reign supreme on Monument Circle. The inaugural Indianapolis Pizza Festival is coming to the heart of downtown, and it's featuring some friendly, delicious competition with $5,000 on the line. Hosted by social media food critic and Indy native Tommy Barrett, the festival brings together more than 30 local pizzerias for a daylong celebration of what he calls Indiana's underrated food scene. "We need more eyeballs on some of our food places. I think we have good food in Indianapolis. There's a very bad stigma that we don't," said Barrett, known online for his viral "StartsWithAQuestion" videos on TikTok and Instagram. "I felt like this was a great opportunity to take what I've done on social media and make it a tangible product for not just people who follow me, but for the whole city." Barrett's festival dishes out unlimited pizza samples with general admission ($30 in advance, $40 day-of), or the full VIP treatment complete with craft cocktails, dessert vendors and prime shaded seating near the stage for $75. Each ticket includes a vote in the high-stakes competition to crown Indiana's best slice alongside celebrity judges like acclaimed pizzaiolo Frank Pinello, host of "The Pizza Show" and owner of one of New York's most iconic pizzerias. "Every single person's vote counts the same," Barrett said. He is channeling his love for food, which he discovered when every work trip and weekend getaway with his wife turned into a quest for the best local eats, to shine a spotlight on Indiana's pizzerias. The festival lineup includes well-known spots like Futuro and King Dough, but also up-and-coming shops looking for a breakthrough moment. Many of them, Barrett added, don't have big marketing budgets. 'There's no Domino's, no Papa John's,' he said. 'It's the mom-and-pops who deserve the credit, who may not have the best budget for a social media marketing team. It's just really word of mouth." The festival is also raising money for United Way of Central Indiana, with proceeds from each ticket and $1 from every drink sale donated to support community initiatives. Between slices, guests can enjoy live performances by the Tyler Robling Band and Jay Baker, or sip a custom beer brewed by Upland Brewing Company, local wine, or lemonade shake-ups. While there's no official pineapple-on-pizza debate planned, Barrett said all toppings and tastes are welcome. He said he's already thinking about making the festival an annual tradition, and possibly branching out to other food events throughout the year. For now, he hopes that everyone can discover something new at the festival. "Try a place you've never heard of," he said. "And if you love it, maybe you drive 30 minutes to support that business again."

Indianapolis Star
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
King Dough to open by-the-slice eatery in closed Kan-Kan Restaurant space
The Kan-Kan Restaurant is no more, but a big name in Indianapolis pizza will soon take its place. Two days after the Kan-Kan Cinema and Restaurant announced its Japanese-inspired kitchen would close, co-founder and co-owner Ed Battista told IndyStar on June 18 that Central Indiana pizza mini-chain King Dough would take over the restaurant space with a quick-service counter operation. Battista said the pivot from sit-down fare to by-the-slice pizza is intended to offer a more approachable, affordable dining option for moviegoers and create a more sustainable business model for the Windsor Park neighborhood's hybrid arthouse theater-restaurant. "We just can't get the volume of people that we need to choose to dine with us," Battista said of the recently closed eatery. "We need to serve the filmgoing community in a way that is the most inclusive to everybody.' During the renovations, which Battista said should last three to four weeks, the Kan-Kan concession area will remain open, though the restaurant's bar will close (the Kan-Kan Restaurant's social media posts announcing the kitchen overhaul originally said the bar would remain open). Once the renovations are complete, King Dough will serve pizza slices and salads made in house from a walk-up counter. All three existing King Dough locations, including the nearby full-service restaurant at 452 N. Highland Ave. in the Holy Cross neighborhood, will remain open. Battista said Kan-Kan Restaurant staffers will receive two weeks' pay in addition to their final paycheck. He hopes to relocate some kitchen and wait staff to Bluebeard and Amelia's, which he co-owns with his father, Tom. Some staffers have been put in contact with King Dough management, though it is unknown how many, if any, will work in the reimagined restaurant space. Kan-Kan Cinema and Restaurant opened in August 2021 after a more than year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Multi-time James Beard Award nominee and then-Bluebeard executive chef Abbi Merriss filled the same role in Kan-Kan's kitchen, which operates independently from the cinema with which it shares its home at 1258 Windsor Street. In late 2022 Merriss stepped down to focus on Bluebeard, with chef Michael Conley (previously a cook at the since-closed Rook in Fletcher Place and chef de partie at Kan-Kan) taking her place. Last year, the Kan-Kan Restaurant promoted longtime chef Travis Hitch to lead the kitchen, replacing Conley. While the ever-changing high-end restaurant found a place in the hearts of many Indy diners and film buffs, the Kan-Kan Restaurant ultimately didn't prove a reliable source of revenue. "It is definitely heartbreaking because we had a vision for what this could be for our city, and it didn't hit the way we wanted it to," Battista said of the now-closed restaurant. 'I'm still proud of it. I think we did something very special."