A longtime Bloomington staple will reopen Thursday under a different name. The owners of Scholar's Inn spent eight weeks renovating the space, and are now calling it Scholar's Keep.
The nearly 200-year-old house on College Avenue was a Korean karaoke bar until owners Lyle and Kerry Feigenbaum converted it into a restaurant in the 1990s.
"And so this restaurant has really been a pillar of the fine dining scene in Bloomington since that time," Lyle says.
Lyle says Scholar's Keep is building off that history. Inside the renovated restaurant, each floor provides a different atmosphere. The first level has swinging lights above an 18-seat bar, while upstairs is a more intimate, upscale dining room.
Lyle says they worked with a designer from Indianapolis and a new chef in hopes of creating an atmosphere that will appeal to everyone.
"We're adding such a wide variety of menu items," Lyle says. "Most are $15 and under, so we can relate to students, people in the area, so they can come one, two, three times a week."
But Lyle says they will still keep popular menu items from the Scholars Inn, like the filet and lemon-thyme chicken.
The rebranded restaurant opens Thursday.