Vegan Comfort Food Eatery Lands in Indianapolis

Vegan restaurant Three Carrots will open next month in Indianapolis, IN. Owner Ian Phillips started cooking several years ago as a way to bring more vegan options to the area in the form of pop-up parties—which eventually grew into a stand, specializing in seitan-based sandwiches, at Indianapolis City Market. Three Carrots will feature a simple but flavorful menu that focuses on American comfort food classics but also draws on Phillips’ love for Thai, Ethiopian, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese cuisine. Phillips—who has been vegan for more than 20 years—explains that while Indianapolis has been a city filled with chain restaurants and steakhouses, he has observed a palatable change in recent years. “More and more restaurants are starting to offer vegan options around the city,” Phillips said, admitting that he no longer has to drive to “some weird natural food store” to get a vegan cookbook or nutritional yeast. In the coming year, Phillips plans to launch a more sophisticated bar menu, develop fermented vegan cheeses, and “get real weird with desserts eventually.” Phillips revealed that his City Market stand has seen an increase in revenue of 40 percent every year, and feels Three Carrots—which is 2,200 square feet and seats 90, both indoors and outdoors—will fill a growing demand for plant-based dining in the city. “Now I can do something that I love doing, do that thing well, while also making the world a better place in the process,” Phillips says. “For me, that’s the trifecta. It’s peeling three carrots with one knife, if you will. It’s my dream.”