By Stacey A. Shannon—
MUNCIE, IN—The end of the year is the season of change for Amazing Joe’s and its owners, Mike Robinson, Chad Massoth and Nick Grams. The trio – with more than 50 years of combined restaurant experience – started prepping for the opening of the original Amazing Joe’s in Muncie at the end of 2007.
The first restaurant opened early in 2008. Then in November of 2010, the restaurant was doing well enough to open a second location in Columbus, Ind. Both restaurants had years of success behind them when the trio opened the more upscale Adams Street Chophouse in December 2023.
But they weren’t finished. Last December they opened a third Amazing Joe’s in Winchester, Ind. Now this December, the original Amazing Joe’s is moving from its location at 909 Wheeling Avenue to the Delaware County Regional Airport, 311 Carl Simmons Drive.
Massoth said the Wheeling location needed major remodeling to better accommodate its staff and customers.
“We did outgrow the space,” Massoth said. “We were just limited to what we could do.”
Yet, in leasing the building, the renovations weren’t able to happen, so the search began for a new location. Massoth said he and his partners looked at a variety of options from existing structures to building from scratch.
One thing was for sure, though: Muncie was the location of choice and would remain that way. Massoth said Muncie is home for both him and Robinson, and they are dedicated to remaining part of the community.
After looking through 20 different options, Massoth, Robinson and Grams found the Delaware County Regional Airport location. Home to various restaurants through the years, the restaurant space has been empty since 2021.
“We got a good deal on the building, so we thought we’d move the 2.7 miles out here,” Massoth said. “It’s going to be a little bit bigger of a dining room.”
The new location will also have a much larger kitchen, better parking and will be only one story.
“This gives us a way to improve and make things more streamlined and hit all the things we thought weren’t 100% [at the Wheeling location],” Massoth said.
He added that another bonus of changing buildings is being able to capture the Amazing Joe’s aesthetic that has developed through the years. The restaurant will play classic rock music, have concert posters and records on the walls and feature a color palette of green and orange.
While the looks may be changing, everything else the restaurant is known for will remain the same from the staff to the food.
“The menu is going to be exactly the same,” Massoth said.
For now, Amazing Joe’s is in a holding pattern as work is completed on the building. The equipment, furniture and décor are ready and waiting at a warehouse in Indianapolis. Massoth said the plan is for the Wheeling location to close on a Sunday evening in December and reopen the following Wednesday at the airport location.
Through it all, Massoth and his partners plan to maintain the roots and relationships they’ve built through the years. In fact, with all the recent construction projects, even the construction workers have become part of the Amazing Joe’s family and are known by name.
“We’ve got good relationships with all of our building workers,” Massoth said. “We use the same companies, so we’ve all become friends over the years.”
And that encapsulates the business’s goal and main rule: be nice. Massoth said that’s the one message they give to employees.
“Just be nice. That’s so simple,” he said. “Do the right thing. It makes such a big difference…Really, it’s like a throwback to the old normal where people look you in the eye and they genuinely want you to have a good time.”
The new location itself is part of that same classic vibe. It’s been a long-time restaurant spot and place where people can go to watch planes land and takeoff. Amazing Joe’s is excited to revamp the place, add an outdoor patio in the spring and start serving its customers in a new way as soon as possible.
