INDIANAPOLIS — An iconic downtown Indianapolis bar is raising the age limit to get inside.
The new owners of the Slippery Noodle Inn posted on Facebook over the weekend that the bar would be a "21 and over business" for the foreseeable future.
Jason Amonett and Sean Lothridge recently bought the Slippery Noodle Inn, located at 372 S. Meridian St. in downtown Indianapolis. They said they were told by Indiana Excise Police that the bar wasn't licensed to operate as an all-ages dining establishment.
"We are exploring options to correct this and will update our loyal guests when we can return to a family dining venue," the post read.
The Slippery Noodle Inn was originally called the Tremont House when it opened as a roadhouse in 1850. It was a station on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War and, during Prohibition, the Al Brady and John Dillinger gangs used the back building for target practice — where bullet holes are still in the wall today.
The bar's previous owners, Hal and Carol Yeagy, turned the establishment from a one-room lunch counter into a premiere blues club, which featured acclaimed performers such as Buddy Guy, Gregg Allman and Gene Deer, after the death of Hal's father, who bought the bar in 1963.
The bar's new owners said earlier this month they intended to maintain the Slippery Noodle Inn's history.
"We have both admired and been patrons of the Noodle for decades. It is an icon in Indianapolis, Indiana and the Midwest," Amonett said in a news release.
The Slippery Noodle Inn is now on the National Register of Historic Places.