Customers are approaching Kristen Shelley, co-owner of Trojan Horse restaurant in downtown Bloomington, worried that the restaurant is closing.
The answer is yes, and no.
Shelley and husband Michael have owned the beloved restaurant and bar that serves Greek and American cuisine on the corner of Walnut Street and Kirkwood Avenue for just over eight years. The restaurant has operated in that location since 1978. On May 20, the couple officially posted on social media letting customers know that the rumors were true:
“Well, the warriors are out of the horse so to speak – yes, we are moving to Richland Plaza in Ellettsville, hopefully by the end of the summer. This was not an overnight decision and when the Wee Willie’s building became suddenly available, we knew it was time to act.
“We know it will be different with us not being on the corner after so many decades. We will miss being part of the downtown Bloomington culture. But we have outgrown the space with no place to expand.”
While working in the basement of the restaurant, prepping, on a Wednesday morning, Shelley explained why the couple decided to move. “It’s been a thought … it would be nice to have more space,” she said, adding that the current location doesn’t offer a chance for outside seating and divides the prep area (in the basement) from the kitchen on a separate floor.
Earlier this year, “out of the blue,” Shelley said she saw that Wee Willie’s in Ellettsville was closing — a perfect opportunity to have one large area for kitchen prep and cooking, spaces for outdoor dining, plenty of free parking and the ability to provide both booths and tables, ones that can handle large groups.
While some patrons enjoy the narrow aisles and don’t mind the need to climb stairs for larger seating at tables, it’s something that has kept others away, Shelley said. Those issues, along with plenty of free parking, won’t be a problem at the future restaurant.
What the new location will provide
“One of the main components of the different space is more family-style seating,” Shelley said. In the current location, Trojan Horse has two tables set for six and one that can seat eight. “If you have 12 people and two of those tables are gone, it’s difficult to accommodate.”
Both restaurants have seating for about 120 people, Shelley said. The new restaurant will still have booths but will have more tables, encouraging larger parties of people and potentially some catering options.
The new restaurant also offers options for outdoor seating since it already has a patio area. “Outdoor seating ins’t anything we felt good about here downtown,” she said. Since the Ellettsville location has no stairs, the restaurant will be more accessible to people who currently avoid Trojan Horse.
The drive-thru window at the Wee Willie’s location will become a pick-up window. Customers will be able to call or go online to place an order and then use the window to pick up the orders. There will be no lines of traffic waiting to place orders at the restaurant, just to pick up what’s already ordered and waiting for them.
While the exterior of the Ellettsville location won’t change, the interior will. New equipment in the kitchen, furniture and flooring will be installed. Shelley said it’s still in the planning stages. She hopes the new location can be open by July but doesn’t really know.
“We’re going to keep working (in Bloomington) as long as we’re able,” she said.
Trojan Horse to keep menu, some items
Shelley anticipates adding some new appetizers and entrees to the menu after the move but the basic menu will remain. “We’re looking forward to having a larger kitchen and prep area, which will allow us to put more on the menu,” she said, adding, “We’re not taking anything off” the menu.
While the favorites — from the saganaki appetizer to the gyros and other sandwiches — will stay, Shelley will add more signature dinner options. Right now Trojan Horse has dinner options of gyros, fish and chicken Giannoulas. She also anticipates offering more catering.
Being open on Mondays will also remain part of Trojan Horse. The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. That will not change.
The Trojan Horse sign, circle emblem and other artwork that has been part of the Bloomington restaurant, will find a new home in Ellettsville. “I’m going to take as much as I can,” Shelley said. “We’re going to try and take the door.”
While some of the current staff will transition to the Ellettsville site, Shelley said others won’t be able to do so. “Hopefully we’ll bring a couple people,” but currently some back-of-the-house staff work at several downtown Bloomington businesses and won’t be able work in Ellettsville. “We’ve got a great staff right now,” she said, adding they will employ about the same number of staff.
What gets left behind
While Shelley looks forward to the move, there are some aspects she’s going to miss.
“We’ll miss the festival days and the IU days,” she said. “We can watch those right out the windows. It will be different not be see downtown Bloomington.”
She knows that some current customers won’t travel to the Ellettsville restaurant. But she’s getting comments from some people about how having a restaurant on one floor will help, and others say Ellettsville is closer to their homes or businesses.
As was stated in the May 20 social post, “We can’t wait for you to see our new place!”
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Trojan Horse restaurant owner tells why downtown restaurant is moving
Reporting by Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
