A Name to Match Our Mission

5 years ago, we attempted to solve an issue ahead of our Indiana store openings: inaccurate guest perception of our concept. 101 is a chef-owned family restaurant focused on seasonal, scratch-made, quality products. However, our teams field questions and comments daily like, “do you serve food?”  “the food is actually really good, we thought it would be bar food!”  “do you have 101 beers on tap?”  “I thought you were a bar. I don’t drink, so I would have never come in!” 

We modified our logo, updated uniforms, and tweaked the interior design of our stores, but it was not enough. The same questions continued to come. As business owners, we were faced with a decision – do we continue fighting the good fight, or update the branding once again but this time, change our name to help new guests more accurately identify us as the high-quality, food-first restaurant that we are?

Having “Beer” in our name was a placeholder; 101 was originally supposed to be a brewpub, however, that direction changed 10 years ago.  Keeping “Beer” in our name has lent to the unfortunate misperception that a beer place equals lower quality frozen food cooked in a fryer when really, we were celebrating how fabulously diverse craft beer is and how wonderfully it pairs with food.

So...hi, we are 101 Craft Kitchen, your neighborhood family restaurant dedicated to always learning and educating with interesting seasonal menus to provide the suburbs with a relaxed environment to enjoy delicious chef-created and scratch made food & beverages.

The choice to modify and evolve for the best interest of our company and all 250 people who work with us is a decision we are really excited about.

To be clear, we are not changing - just our name.

Guests who know us can expect the same high-quality products with scratch-made seasonal recipes created by owner Thad Kittrell, a beverage program that includes handcrafted cocktails and mocktails, a wide variety of craft beer, and popular wine selections giving every guest interesting options to complete their dining experience.

We appreciate all the love and support over the years! Thank you to our loyal guests who get us – we see you and look forward to continuing to serve you. And to our new guests who thought we were “just a beer joint” – we can’t wait to meet you!