Five teams pitch restaurants and rehabs for 98 E. High St.; commission to pick a winner Thursday

Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission members heard five competing proposals on March 9 for redeveloping 98 East High Street, with presentations from local restaurant groups and developers who said the project would activate downtown and create jobs.

The presentations — each allotted 15 minutes — included Stronghold Holding Group proposing a Witz frozen-custard location; a Third & Main/restaurant-and-residential team emphasizing historic rehabilitation; Funny Farm’s “Shorties” family-focused ice-cream, boba and taco concept; Anthony Schroeder’s gelato-and-pasta plan tied to his Juliet’s restaurant; and Reszo Engineering’s proposal for a Parkside Market conversion focused on a Lawrenceburg chili concept. The commission will tally individual scoring sheets and is expected to select a preferred proposer at an open, televised work session Thursday at 5 p.m.

Why it matters: the city regards 98 E. High St. as a key downtown corner next to the civic park and concert programming. Commissioners said they want a tenant that will draw foot traffic during Music on the River events and remain active year-round.

Stronghold/ Witz: Christian Strong introduced Stronghold Holding Group and said his daughter would be an owner in the venture; Bill Siri, who identified himself as Witz CEO, told the board Witz would invest about $150,000 to $200,000 in the building, hire roughly 15'0 employees and treat the site as the brand's first Indiana flagship. "We probably spend 700,000 to 800,000 a year in advertising," Siri said, adding he expected Lawrenceburg would be mentioned in national outreach if the site opens as a Witz location.

Third & Main / Sweeney group: presenters with Third & Main (who described operating 30 Main Restaurant and other local businesses) emphasized experience with historic-building rehab and proposed a small-footprint take-and-eat concept designed to be flexible on menu and timeline. The team said partial openings (selling sandwiches or ice cream while final permits or liquor licensing are pending) were possible to capture event-driven demand.

Shorties (Funny Farm team): Rebecca Le and the Funny Farm team proposed "Shorties," combining premium ice cream, boba drinks and scratch-made street tacos to reduce seasonality. The team said they would recruit local high-school and college workers, leverage Funny Farm's existing social-media following and aim to open quickly to serve lunchtime and evening crowds.

Juliet's / Romeo's Gelateria: Anthony Schroeder described adding fresh gelato and pasta-focused lunch offerings tied to his existing Juliet's brand. Schroeder noted prior heavy investments in his restaurants and said his group has experience with permitting and operations; he also referenced an appraisal-based offer of $340,000 for the property.

Reszo Engineering / Parkside Market: Bob Reszo outlined a family-style "Lawrenceburg chili" concept and stressed his long record renovating downtown properties and delivering restaurant buildouts. He told commissioners he is flexible on menu additions and is focused on making a sustainable, day-to-day business for the site.

Scoring and next steps: staff walked through two scoring matrices that weight concept and team experience most heavily, plus financials, timeline, and local impact. Commissioners were asked to complete physical score sheets and bring them to the Thursday work session; staff will tally scores and call for a public vote if needed. "We'll meet again Thursday for our work session," Executive Director Brian Msmore said.

The board made no selection at the meeting; commissioners asked written follow-ups and clarified the public can watch the Thursday session when the commission will announce its decision.

Provenance: This article draws on in-person presentations and staff remarks delivered at the March 9, 2026 Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission meeting (topic introduced at SEG 175; final related remarks at SEG 2499).