The Queen of Zionsville, Indiana

Take Five with Shari Jenkins

By Lauren Weidinger | May 22, 2023

Shari Jenkins is no stranger to the restaurant scene. She is the proud owner of not one but two restaurants in the Zionsville area. Shari owns Noah Grant’s, a casual grill house and oyster bar, and the heavily-anticipated Tipsy Mermaid Conch House & Cocktails, a Key West inspired restaurant. Shari cites her family’s many travels around the United States and Caribbean for inspiring her love of food and her desire to work in the restaurant industry. We recently had the opportunity to ask her five questions to learn more about her and her latest business endeavor.

Edible Indy (EI): Why did you feel it was important to keep making restaurants in Zionsville as opposed to other locations around the state or country?

Shari Jenkins (SJ): I love Zionsville. I graduated from Zionsville Community High School, and although I ran away after college, all the way to Broad Ripple, as soon as my son was born, I made the decision to move back to Zionsville. It’s such a great community.

EI: What is the best career advice you could give someone?

SJ: I’ve had many hospitality students reach out to me over the years and have told them 3 things.
You must be willing to always be creative to keep your guests’ interest.
Plan on working 7 days a week, even if it’s from home.
Know your life will not be like any one else’s in your life. It’s a business that you must be committed 100%.

EI: What is one of your proudest moments as a restaurateur?

SJ: My proudest moments are always when I have shy 16 year olds work at Noah Grant's and watching them bloom into confident young adults that have more knowledge about the real world than their peers because of what they learned at Noah Grant’s.

EI: What is your ultimate long-term goal? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

SJ: To run these restaurants as long as I can. I will never retire. You’ll find me bartending at a tiki hut bar somewhere in the Caribbean.

photography courtesy of Mad River Distillery

EI: If you were a cocktail, what would you be and why?

SJ: I would most definitely be a Hemingway’s mistress cocktail. It's made with Papa's Pilar rum (made in Key West with a nod to Ernest (Hemingway) and his beloved fishing boat, The Pilar), coconut water and other fun ingredients. I joke that if I was alive when he was, I'd be his 5th wife.

Shari’s newest restaurant the Tipsy Mermaid highlights her love of Key West and her intrigue with author Ernest Hemingway, former resident of the island city. The menu of the restaurant is set to feature Key West inspired cuisine and flavors. Shari mentioned that one of the main features of the menu will be conch, sea snail.

“Key West is not like any other place in Florida and the menu will reflect that. Bringing items like Conch to Indiana really excites me,” Shari said.

The Tipsy Mermaid is located at 135 South Main St. in Zionsville, Indiana and is set to open its doors the end of June. You can find a preview of the restaurant’s menu here.

Noah Grant’s is located at 91 South Main St. in Zionsville, Indiana. You can browse the menu and visit their website here.