Some of my fondest memories of first moving to downtown Indy were spending every moment I could outside. I was gardening, riding my bike to work, and hitting every brewery, restaurant, and patio I could several times a week. One of those nights, I was out late with a friend and we ended up in Fountain Square at this newly opened Mexican restaurant, La Margarita. The kitchen was closed but there was still a big group around the bar, so we grabbed a few beers and hung out. After a while, the crowd thinned out until we were sitting there alone with the manager. I remember, rather hazily, drinking several bombers of Figure Eight’s Ro Shampo (one of our favorite Indiana beers) with him. And with each new bottle, he would mention some new note he tasted and we would blearily nod our heads in agreement. That was the first time I met Jon Rangel.

Over the last five years, La Margarita has become an anchor in Fountain Square (through events, partnering with neighboring restaurants, and being a constant voice in the community) as the area has become less and less sketchy (like so many niche cultural places before it). Further, Jon’s built a reputation as having one of the best-curated beer lists in the city (up there with Tomlinson Tap Room and Twenty Tap). Friends and out-of-town clients are always skeptical when I say this—as though great craft beer and Mexican food can’t live together.

It’s refreshing to see a restaurant buck the arms race trend of having as many taps as possible. You never have to worry about funky lines or stale beer at LaMa—just a nice, tight list.

 

 

Jon, a great designer in his own right, spent years wrestling with a pieced-together website (using plugins and various patches to try and get from one stage to the next). While this can be a pain to endure, we find that when people approach us for a new website after slugging it out like this for a few years, they have a very dialed in list of what they need. And this made the entire process a breeze. Working with Jon, we built an events-forward, responsive WordPress site to showcase LaMa’s food menu, that aforementioned killer craft beer lineup, the best tequila list in the city, and a burgeoning part of his restaurant business; catering. Gorgeous art from Joey Potts (the guy behind the 18th Street Brewing Co. branding) tied everything together.

 

 

We’ve talked about working together for years, and are glad to have finally had the chance. Jon’s part of the landscape that makes Indianapolis a fun place to call home and we’re glad to have helped out in a small way.