By Anna Skinner
Dustin Brown and Azin Lotfi always loved Crust Pizzeria Napoletana, the local pizza restaurant on Old Meridian Street. The married couple loved it so much, they decided to purchase the business when it went up for sale.
“We were customers at the old location. We would go there time-to-time. Everyone really liked it,” Brown said. “We had always talked about having a business. The owners of Mimi Blue Meatballs bought (the location). So we worked out a deal to buy Crust and find a location for it.”
The couple purchased the Michelle’s restaurant spot at 840 W. Main St. and moved the pizza oven as well as all the recipes over to the new Crust. The soft opening was last month with the front patio space opening shortly after.
Mohey Osman, the creator of Crust, launched a separate restaurant and didn’t have the time to continue to operate the pizzeria. The couple said Crust is not a franchise, but a local and independent restaurant.
The grand opening is scheduled from 5:30 to 9 p.m. July 13, and at that time, the back beer garden seating will open. For the grand opening, Crust will host a “tap takeover” in the bar, where four taps will pour Taxman Brewing Co. beer and the other four will pour Ballast Point Brewing Co. The couple plans on having live music on a regular basis. Both patios are pet friendly.
“How often do you have the opportunity to invest in your kids’ favorite pizza place?” Lotfi said. “That’s kind of the reason we decided to do it … We didn’t want a local, independent restaurant to go away.”
Crust is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. For more, visit crustindy.com.
