INDIANAPOLIS — While the pandemic continues to take a toll on many businesses and entrepreneurs, some are moving forward with new locations and ideas. World Famous HOTBOYS is one of those businesses.
Their owner, Victor Ghaben, plans to open a third location in Fountain Square in the old Peppy Grill location. Ghaben said he heard so many great things about Indy from his friends. A trip out here is all it took for him to know this was the perfect spot for his business.
"We really liked the Fountain Square neighborhood. It's beautiful. It's got really cool architecture, a cool vibe to it. It really reminds me of Oakland," Ghaben said.
Their Oakland location is walk-up style restaurant that's been modified because of COVID-19. Ghaben said their Fountain Square location will be significantly bigger than their Oakland and Sacramento locations.
Ghaben said he looks forward to that, but before they can begin getting it ready for customers, they have to deal with getting permits.
"Before we're allowed to fix it, even though we own the building, we have to apply for this permit, and because it's a historical building, we have to apply for something through the historical society which takes twice as many weeks," Ghaben said.
While making money is obviously a goal, Ghaben said they also care about the neighbors they're in and want to be good stewards in the community.
"We try to serve our community in whatever space we're in. In our Oakland location, for example, we feed the homeless every day," Ghaben said. "If a homeless person or anyone can't use our checkout system comes up and asks for food, we give them food because we don't want to have people leaving hungry."
WRTV asked when Hoosiers can expect to get a taste of some of the World Famous HOTBOYS Hot Chicken.
"I'm hoping for August, at the latest September. We'll see though," Ghaben said.
For fans of the original Peppy Grill, a new location is open near IUPUI's campus on the lower level of The Avenue apartments. They're continuing the tradition, most notably, by staying open 24 hours a day starting this Friday.
