Family Express continues expansion in central Indiana
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Valparaiso-based Family Express Corp. plans to build a 5,800-square-foot convenience store at the southeast corner of State Road 37 and East 135th Street in Fishers.
Plans call for a $5 million development on two acres at 13498 Bent Grass Lane that would include a gas station, automatic car wash, pet wash, and indoor and outdoor seating. The property is just north of Zaxby’s Chicken Fingers & Buffalo Wings and Taco Bell.
Joseph Calderone, an attorney with the Indianapolis office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, last week told members of the Fishers City Council that the company expects to begin construction in August and open by the end of the year.
Family Express started in 1975 when Gus Olympidis opened his first convenience store, then called Time Low, in Valparaiso.
Now, Family Express has 81 stores in central and northern Indiana, as well as a central bakery and distribution center in Valparaiso that has capacity to serve up to 400 stores. Calderone said the family-owned company is looking to continue growing.
In central Indiana, Family Express has locations at 7073 W. Washington St., 2430 N. Lebanon St. in Lebanon, 5964 W. Broadway in McCordsville and 1477 Chatham Commons in Westfield.
“They are pushing into the northern suburbs of Indianapolis: Westfield, Fishers, McCordsville etc., and they do have an aggressive growth plan,” Calderone told council members.
In 2017, Family Express introduced Cravin’s To Order, which sells made-to-order pizza, boneless wings, pretzels and breakfast items, with interior and exterior seating for 28. The store’s Cravin’s Market brand includes a line of sandwiches, wraps and salads. Locations also have bakeries that sell square doughnuts and other baked goods.
The stores feature a pet wash where, for $10, pet owners can give their pet a 12-minute bath, complete with shampoo, conditioner, and flea and tick treatment.
Family Express is seeking a text amendment to the Fishers Marketplace Planned Unit Development to update architectural and development standards for the business. The Fishers Plan Commission will review the proposal on June 5, and the Fishers City Council could vote on the project on June 17.