A stretch of the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple that has sat empty for nearly two years could soon be pouring pints again. The Indianapolis Board of Parks and Recreation has approved a lease of the building at 902 E. 64th St. to Monon Brewing Company, a startup owned by Garrett Lawton and Thomas Jeschke, setting the stage for a new brewery to move into the former home of Public Greens.
The lease still needs to clear one more hurdle before it becomes official. As reported by IndyStar, Indy Parks' recommendation must still go before another City-County Council committee before Lawton and Jeschke can formally take over the trail-side building. Lawton, a real estate agent, attorney and longtime Broad Ripple resident, told the paper the space felt like the stars were aligning.
The building has been vacant since Public Greens closed in December 2024. For a decade, the urban kitchen operated there under Martha Hoover's Won't Stop Hospitality Inc., donating 100% of its profits to the Patachou Foundation to help feed food-insecure children in Central Indiana, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. When the restaurant shut its doors, its adjacent micro-farm on the east side of the trail was formally turned over to Indy Parks and Recreation, the outlet reported.
A Brewer With Deep Local Roots
Lawton isn't new to the beer business or to the neighborhood. He created Monon Brewing Company LLC in 2019 and has owned brewing equipment since 2021, per IndyStar's report. Before that, he coached track and field and cross country at two north-side high schools and founded a running club based in Broad Ripple.
Jeschke, a consultant and construction project manager, rounds out the ownership team. Lawton described Monon Brewing as a community-centric brewery, and said the future for breweries is community engagement and partnerships, according to the same report.
Those partnerships are already taking shape. The brewery plans to team up with Rusted Moon Outfitters, Pixel Haus Toy Store, and Broad Ripple Brewpub, according to IndyStar. That last name carries some weight in Indiana's craft beer history: established in 1990 by Yorkshire native John Hill, Broad Ripple Brewpub is recognized by CraftBeer.com as Indiana's first brewpub and its oldest continually operating craft brewery.
From Morning Coffee to Evening Pints
The proposed hours reflect an ambitious, all-day approach. Monon Brewing plans to operate from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and until 10 p.m. on weekends, the article notes, transitioning from a cafe and lunch spot in the morning to a family-friendly tap room in the afternoon, with select adults-only hours built in. Lawton plans to contract vendors to serve food and coffee inside the brewery rather than run a full kitchen himself.
He also hopes to source some ingredients from the garden across the Monon Trail, the same plot where Public Greens once grew produce and edible flowers before the property passed to Indy Parks. Formal details on how that sourcing arrangement would work have not been reported.
Repairs Still Needed Before Opening
Even with the lease approved, the building isn't move-in ready. It requires maintenance for mold, new wood on the outdoor deck, and new water heaters, IndyStar reported. Andre Denman said the property recently received a new roof, offering at least one piece of good news on the maintenance front.
Under Indiana Code Title 36, municipal park and recreation boards hold explicit statutory authority to enter into leases for park-owned buildings and grounds. The statute says money received from leasing natural or mineral resources is deposited in a nonreverting capital fund under subsection (a)(6), according to Indiana Code. Any alcohol service or private enterprise sales on the site would also require specific park board permits, per Indy Parks & Recreation rules governing commercial activity on city park property.
Bucking a Statewide Trend
Monon Brewing's arrival would mark a change-up in the trend of Central Indiana breweries closing, IndyStar reported. That trend shows up clearly in the numbers: Indiana's craft beer industry contracted by 4.6% in 2025 to 185 total breweries as closures outpaced openings for a second straight year, with statewide annual production falling from 233,000 barrels to 222,000 barrels, according to Vinetur.
The pressures aren't unique to Indiana. Indiana Public Radio reported 481 craft brewery closures across the U.S. that year as overall craft beer production fell 5%. That shift helps explain why Monon Brewing's model leans so heavily on coffee, food and daytime family hours rather than beer sales alone.
The site does come with a built-in advantage: foot traffic. The building is near apartment housing. Just across East 64th Street is BRICS, the ice cream shop.
Central Indiana's hospitality scene has seen operators recalibrate in the face of these same pressures. Whether Monon Brewing's all-day, multi-generational model can hold its ground on the trail may depend as much on that council vote as on what's in the taps.
