When Michelle Drew and her family moved to the Village of WestClay in Carmel, they enjoyed having a neighborhood coffee shop.
“We loved it just as much as everybody,” Drew said. “We hated to see it sitting here (closed).”
So, when Zing Cafe, 12710 Meeting House Rd., closed in the late fall of 2021, Drew had an idea. She contacted the former owner, Kim Hendren.
“We told her we were interested in buying,” she said. “She had a couple other coffee shops, so I purchased it at the end of March.”
Drew made one change to the name, adding an exclamation mark to make it Zing! Cafe with a new logo. Drew, who was teaching first grade at Zionsville’s Boone Meadow Elementary, had to wait until the end of the school year to open the shop June 4. She previously had taught 19 years in Dallas before moving to Carmel in late May 2021.
“I decided to retire and try a new adventure,” she said. “It’s something I always wanted to try, and it was right here in the neighborhood.”
Drew said the menu is similar to the previous menu.
Drew said Circle City Sweets provides the pastries. Sidekick provides spices for chicken salad and tuna salad. She connected with both businesses at Carmel Farmers Market.
“We’re trying to support other local businesses,” she said.
Drew said they painted, added a display case and monitors to modernize Zing! Cafe.
The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Monday. Drew said she is there when the store is open.
David and Sherri Klain, who own the building, opened Zing Cafe in April 2016 and sold it to Hendren in June 2018.
Drew and her husband, Floyd, moved to Carmel to be closer to their children. Their son, Nathan, recently finished his sophomore year at Purdue University. They have twin daughters, Sarah, who finished her freshman year at Indiana University, and Ray, who recently finished at the University of Iowa. Drew said Sarah is applying to transfer to Purdue.
