Liz Biro: Giordano's to open in Downtown Indy in November

How long will you have to stand in line to get inside a Giordano's pizzeria in Downtown Indy? Find out this November when the Chicago chain opens its second Indy location one block from Monument Circle.

Giordano's picked the Illinois Building's first floor on the southeast corner of Illinois and Market streets, Keystone Realty Group announced Wednesday morning.

Keystone plans another restaurant on the first floor and an indoor/outdoor rooftop bar and restaurant on the 11th floor. An upscale hotel will anchor the property.

Giordano's construction begins this summer in the space facing Illinois Street. The 4,000-square-foot space will seat 150 people, Giordano's reported.

Excitement over Giordano's first Indy opening Feb. 3 at Rivers Edge Shopping Center near Fashion Mall was unparalleled in the company's history, Giordano's CEO Yorgo Koutsogiorgas said. Hoosiers waited in line for a few hours to get inside Giordano's during the grand opening and for weeks following.

A Facebook page titled "Bring Giordano's Pizza to Indianapolis" garnered nearly 1,000 likes before the chain announced its Indy arrival. The page's fans, numbering 1,254 today, continue to share information about how to get in and out of the River Edge Giordano's quickly.

Koutsogiorgas announced plans for a Downtown store and suburban locations, including Carmel, before the 4110 E. 82nd St. Giordano's unlocked its doors. The chain's decision to grow multiple Indy units was based on Chicago in-store surveys that found many customers came from Indiana and Indianapolis. Key market segments here — tourists families, sports fans and young professionals — also convinced Giordano's that city was ripe for more of the pizzerias, Koutsogiorgas said.

Keystone Realty Group in 2014 purchased the long-vacant Illinois Building, which Indiana Landmarks listed in 2007 among the "10 Most Endangered" Indy properties. Keystone owner and CEO Ersal Ozdemir also wants an upscale hotel in the 11-story, 150,000-square-foot building dating to 1926.

"Having such a well-known and beloved brand name represents the next step in revitalizing a historically significant property, with more announcements of further development still to come," Ozdemir said of Giordano's in the Illinois Building.

Ozdemir also owns Indy Eleven Professional Soccer.

Call Liz Biro at (317) 444-6264. Follow her on Twitter @lizbiro, Instagram @lizbirodish and Facebook. Email her at liz.biro@indystar.com.