Following the bankruptcy of its partner company and months of uncertainty, Thr3e Wise Men has rebranded itself as 625 TapHouse.
Located in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, the restaurant first opened in 2015 through a partnership between Scott Wise and The Arc of Indiana, a nonprofit organization for people with disabilities. While The Arc owned the restaurant, Wise managed the operations.
Together, the group hoped to create a destination restaurant in downtown Muncie that also provided people with disabilities a local opportunity for employment, said Kim Dodson, executive director of The Arc.
Then, in 2016, Wise sold his restaurant chain — which included Scotty’s Brewhouse and Thr3e Wise Men — to Due North Holdings, a restaurant brand company. Due North then took over operations of the downtown location.
Dodson said Due North supported The Arc’s mission for Thr3e Wise Men but felt it was “not as committed to the mission as they needed to be.”
In December 2018, Due North filed for bankruptcy and many of its restaurants closed. Because the Muncie location of Thr3e Wise Men was owned by The Arc, however, Scott Craddock, manager of the now-named 625 TapHouse, said the restaurant was able to rebrand and remain open.
While the restaurant never closed, Dodson said it eventually shifted to its new brand, 625 TapHouse, as well as a new operator, General Hotels Corporation, which also operates the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
“We are staying open and operating normal business hours,” read a tweet posted by the restaurant’s account in July 2019. “Come on in and see us!”
Along with its new name, the restaurant also has a revised menu which includes more lunch options such as soups and sandwiches, as well as pizza and beer.
“Instead of viewing everything that has happened as a negative, it really is a wonderful opportunity for us at The Arc,” Dodson said. “It allows us to really go in and build a menu based on what our customers are saying they want to see, which was harder to do with another company.”
Despite the changes, however, Dodson said the mission of The Arc of Indiana has remained the same.
Through the Erskine Green Training Institute, a postsecondary vocational training program founded by The Arc, the restaurant has a curriculum participants can follow while they intern at the restaurant.
If not for the students at the institute, Dodson said The Arc would not be able to maintain the restaurant the way it has.
“We are not in the restaurant business to make money and to run a restaurant,” Dodson said. “We want it as that learning opportunity for our students first.”
Moving forward, Dodson said there are still things about the business that are unclear — such as if it will keep the name 625 TapHouse — but it remains committed to its core purpose.
As for the possibility of Wise’s renewed involvement with the restaurant, he said “I’m the kind of guy that never says never.”
“I think it’s just important we’re all friends and colleagues and I wish them all the best,” Wise said. “I want them to find something that’s successful.”
Rohith Rao contributed to this story.
Contact Brittany Dobbins with comments at bdobbins@bsu.edu.
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