By Dawn Pearson
The fat lady has sung her last song, or eaten her last meal in the former Clark’s Opera House on Main Street as Plum’s Upper Room closed its doors early last week.
Owner, Jayne Nolting, began cooking for the residents of Zionsville in 1988 and posted a note on the door to customers and patrons. It reads, “Dear Friends and Patrons, Plum’s is closed. Opening my first café, here in 1988, marked the beginning of a fabulous journey that I will fondly remember. It has been my pleasure to serve you.”
Nolting said in an email to the Current that she is currently too busy for an interview but will be happy to “chat next week.” “It’s just that I have quite a lot to do, a finite amount of time to do it and I’m determined for it to go well,” she stated in the email.
“There is much to do at the moment, with closing the shop properly,” she wrote in an email. Customer service is still important as the sign on the door ended with this; “If you have a gift certificate not yet redeemed, please send me an e-mail at [email protected].”
The restaurant, with it’s slowed cooked food, craft beer, micro-brews and select wines, will be missed in Zionsville and fit in for 27 years.
Editor and blogger of EatDrinkIndy.com, Jolene Ketzenberger, was a customer of Plum’s.
“Plum’s had a cool vibe and a great location in a historic building, although with that old iron staircase that leads up from the street entrance, it wasn’t particularly accessible, Ketzenberger stated. “In the past, both the food and service had been uneven, but their young chef, Jeremiah Clark, had a lot of potential and was working to address the problems. He left earlier this year, though, so that may have had an effect. I think the biggest problem that Plum’s faced was a lack of identity. I’m not sure people really knew what kind of restaurant it was.”
