The Fishers stretch of Allisonville Road where Ed Sahm opened his very first bar back in 1986 is about to get a new tenant with deep family roots. Sahm's Hospitality Group plans to open Mamacita, a cocktail bar and taco operation, at 11501 Allisonville Road this November, taking over the space most recently occupied by Rockstone Pizza and Big Lug Taproom.
The announcement, first reported by IndyStar, comes from Eddie Sahm, the company's vice president of business development, who posted about the new concept on Facebook. Mamacita will occupy the same footprint where Rockstone Pizza and Big Lug Taproom operated from 2013 to 2025, and it will become Sahm's Hospitality Group's 12th restaurant in operation, according to the outlet. The site holds particular significance for the family business: Sahm's namesake restaurant has operated in the same retail development since 1986, the year founder Ed Sahm purchased a local bar at the same intersection.
A Cocktail-First Bet in a Crowded Suburb
Eddie Sahm said the company aims to compete for recognition as Fishers' best bar and cocktail venue, per the same account. Steve Simon, the company's longtime beverage director, will heavily influence Mamacita's drink selection. Simon previously worked at Vanguard in Broad Ripple and was involved in opening Half Liter BBQ in SoBro back in 2019, giving him a hand in shaping two of the group's other flagship concepts.
The food side of Mamacita remains less defined for now. The company has not released information about its anticipated food offerings, though the report notes that Sahm's cooks will determine the taco menu through an internal competition among staff. Sahm's Hospitality Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the outlet.
Part of a Broader Expansion Across Central Indiana
Mamacita is just the latest move for a company with more than 40 years of restaurant experience and more than a dozen concepts already in its portfolio. The group is also developing Handsome Johnny, which has an unannounced location in Indianapolis, according to the report. Sahm's has been busy elsewhere too: it recently opened a Big Lug taproom on Shelby Street in the former Garfield Brewery location on the south side of Indianapolis.
Sahm's other flagship, the Broad Ripple development at 5301 Winthrop Ave., pairs Half Liter BBQ and Beer Hall with the Liter House catering and banquet facility, a Texas-style brewpub setup that combines dining with private event space for up to 200 guests, according to Half Liter BBQ. The family has also deepened its civic ties in Fishers, partnering with municipal officials this year to open the 2,600-square-foot Sahm's Community Café inside the new Fishers Community Center at 11400 Johnson Way. Ed Sahm, a Purdue University hospitality graduate who founded the company in 1986, still leads the multi-generational operation alongside Eddie Sahm and beverage operations head Adrienne Sahm, according to North Indy.
Fishers' Booming Appetite for New Concepts
Mamacita's arrival lands in a suburb that has become one of central Indiana's hottest dining battlegrounds. Fishers grew to an estimated 107,169 residents after a June 2025 annexation of 960 parcels, making it the fourth-largest city in the state, according to the City of Fishers. Total annual retail spending in Fishers reached $1.5 billion in 2025, with food, home goods, and entertainment accounting for $105.9 million of that total, per Cushman & Wakefield.
That growth has drawn heavyweight competition. The City of Fishers and BW Development broke ground last year on the $30 million Crossing at Fishers District, a project anchoring a new restaurant corridor with a 10,000-square-foot upscale steakhouse near the 7,500-seat Fishers Event Center, as reported by WTHR. Fast-casual chain CAVA also chose Fishers for its first Indiana location in 2025, opening there before it ever reached downtown Indianapolis, a move Restaurant Dive says reflects how operators view the suburb's high household incomes as fertile ground for new concepts. Sahm's isn't the only hospitality group betting on a Fishers makeover this year, either — Hoodline previously reported on Upland Brewing's takeover of a Mexican bar and grill elsewhere in the city.
