The former Black Acre Brewing Co. Garden space in Irvington will be the new home of Pots & Pans Pie Co.’s commercial kitchen.
Owners Clarissa and Ian Morley shared their plans at an Irvington Community Council meeting Aug. 18. In addition to the commercial kitchen, they plan to have neighborhood retail, parking, a green space, and maker and warehouse users.
Black Acre closed its taproom on East Washington Street and beer garden on Bonna Avenue in 2023. The taproom caught fire in 2019, and Black Acre ran into some financial troubles during COVID-19 pandemic. The company first opened a taproom along Washington Street in Irvington in 2012 and focused on small batch brewing.
Clarissa Morley started Pots and Pans Pie Co. in 2016, selling savory and sweet pies at local farmers markets. She opened a permanent brick-and-mortar storefront at 4915 N. College Ave. in 2018 with her husband Ian in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood. That storefront will remain open.
The 2.9-acre site in Irvington is under contract with Clarissa and Ian Morley, in partnership with 1820 Ventures. They declined to say how much they purchased the site for.
In April 2025, Shop Kid LLC, an affiliate of Pots and Pans Pie Co., received a RFSI grant from the Indiana Department of Agriculture to improve food supply resilience and increase local and regional distribution and storage capacity.
Pots and Pans Pie Co. will use the money to renovate one of the existing buildings on the site into the 15,000- to 17,000-square-foot commercial production kitchen. Construction will start in the fall and is expected to be completed in spring 2027.
The small business made 45,000 pies; they hope to double that number in the new space.
The Morleys estimate the project will bring in 15-20 jobs and about $3 million to $5 million of investment to the area as well.
At the Aug. 18 meeting, residents asked how the old Black Acre beer garden space will be used and if Pots & Pans Pie Co. will offer cooking lessons to the community.
The owners said they are open to community feedback, but haven’t finalized any plans.
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Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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