When the owners of Louie’s Wine Dive closed their Broad Ripple location in September, they were “optimistic that we will come back to Broad Ripple better than ever when the time is right” and directed fans to their Mass Ave. Louie's.

Less than six months later, that Mass Ave. wine bar and restaurant has closed.

Louie’s Wine Dive, 345 Massachusetts Ave., served its last customers March 8, according to a March 10 post on the business’ Facebook page.

The wine bar/restaurant's owner Whitney VinZant told IndyStar the restaurant has been sold to Slapfish, a California-based seafood restaurant chain that opened its first Midwest location inside Noblesville grocery Broccoli Bill's in July 2019. Slapfish specializes in lobster rolls, chowder-smothered fries and other "fresh in your face" seafood combinations.

"We do not have any projects planned in the Indianapolis area currently, but the city will remain at the top of our list as we consider future expansion," VinZant said of his restaurant group, which also includes Kansas City restaurants BRGR Kitchen + Bar and Taco Republic.

Louie's, which strives to make wine lists approachable, opened May 27, 2015, on Mass Ave. A year later, the Broad Ripple location popped up at 701 Broad Ripple Ave.

In the days after the Broad Ripple closing, VinZant told IndyStar, "We can confirm that construction on the Red Line did impact our traffic and sales, but that is not the sole reason for the closure. We would prefer not to comment further."

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"As anyone who's been in this industry knows, the restaurant business is full of difficult decisions, and unfortunately, it was time to throw in the towel at this location.”

VinZant was referring to the Red Line rapid transit bus that slowed College Avenue traffic during the public transportation project’s construction phase in 2019.

Louie's Wine Dives in other states have also closed. A unit in Coralville, Iowa, shuttered March 4. The Nashville, Tenn., Louie's closed in January 2020.

Louie's Wine Dive remains in Clayton and Kansas City, Mo.; Overland Park, Kan.; and Des Moines Iowa, according to the Louie's website. VinZant also runs Bemiston Cocktail Club in Clayton.

"As an organization we are currently refocusing our efforts on our core markets of Kansas City, St. Louis and Des Moines," VinZant said.

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, and on Facebook. Call her at 317-444-6264.