INDIANAPOLIS — Over the last few months, the conversation about what it means to be Black in America has been more important than ever. 

One of the positives to come from that conversation has been the focus on supporting Black-owned businesses… like the one we’re visiting today.

At The Missing Brick, located off 64^th and Binford Boulevard (at 6404 Rucker Road), there’s a focus not only on providing excellent craft pizza but also on highlighting Black excellence.

Since opening in May of 2019, The Missing Brick has amassed a major following thanks to their unique approach.

We’re giving Indy style pizza a try on this tasty trip “In Your Neighborhood.”

“One of the things that Indianapolis didn’t have was a craft pizza place that was Black-owned and family run,” said owner Que Wimberly. “So, that was a hole that The Missing Brick filled.”

When Wimberly opened The Missing Brick in May of last year, she knew she didn’t want to be another traditional Italian or Chicago style pizza joint.

“My goal was instead of going the traditional pepperoni, sausage, green pepper pizza… I wanted to create urban dishes on top of pizzas, which would give you a more familiar style,” she said.

She calls her approach “Indy style.” 

She collaborates with other Black-owned businesses to source ingredients for some of their most popular pizzas, like The Woodstock which uses brisket from Hank’s Smoked Briskets located off Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

And it was their first collaboration with Chef Oya of The Trap Seafood on 34^th and Keystone that led to their number one seller: The Trap Pizza.

“It’s got 8 jumbo shrimp, lump crab, and then we use the ‘OG Trap Buttah’ sauce that is manufactured by Chef Oya all over the pizza so what you get is a seafood boil on the pizza,” Wimberly explained.

They also offer a more traditional style pizza called the OG, topped with pepperoni, bacon, sausage, ham, beef and mozzarella as well as other popular favorites like a buffalo style pizza called the “Smoking Chic.”

As a vegetarian, Wimberly offers two tasty options: The Hippie (topped with mushrooms, tomato, banana peppers, red onion and olives) and her personal favorite, the newly-created Spinarella.

“It has a white sauce which is new to us and then it is loaded with spinach, caramelized onions and mushrooms,” she said. “So it’s a really nice, savory pizza.” 

Wimberly says business has been booming despite the pandemic because people are looking for comfort.

“It’s pizza. It’s comforting. And we need us some comfort food!” she said with a laugh.

 Four Things You Need to Know About The Missing Brick:

• Que Wimberly opened The Missing Brick at 6404 Rucker Road in May of 2019. She set out to create her own style of pizza—which she calls “Indy style”—where she created urban dishes on top of pizza. “There are so many dishes you can create from what you eat every day,” she said. “It’s just having the space to create them. In addition to pizza, they also offer salads and their best-selling snackable Dough Buds. (Hungry? They’re open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 5-10pm)
• One thing that makes The Missing Brick unique is not only is it a black-owned family run pizza joint, but it also supports other black-owned establishments by collaborating with local businesses like Chef Oya’s The Trap Seafood and Hanks Smoked Briskets to source ingredients for some of their most popular pizzas.
• One thing to note is that while their patio is all-ages, The Missing Brick’s dining room is adults-only. And if you are 21+, you’ll be able to enjoy their newly added “Missing Margaritas” which come in 25 different flavors. “From peach margaritas, to lime, to strawberry lemonade, to blueberry, raspberry, mango— whatever you can think of…we have,” Wimberly noted.
• In the future, Wimberly looks forward to being back at 100% capacity, bringing back private parties and live music once a month. She hopes she will get to do those things starting sometime this month.” We also do off-site delivery catering as well [as] corporate packages, birthday packages… we do a little bit of everything,” she said.

The Missing Brick makes it easy to grab-and-go your favorites at their patio pick-up window.

Inside the dining room is where you find some of their most iconic features like wall to wall signatures from first-time visitors in what she calls “Culture Alley” and a mural featuring hip-hop artists like Jay-Z, Cardi B and the late Nipsey Hustle.

“I really wanted to let people know Black excellence when they walk in,” she affirmed. “Every one of these artists has a story behind them. When they started they actually came from nothing and grew into something.”

“When you walk in, I want you to see this excellence and everybody has the same opportunities as long as you just have the discipline and the drive and have a vision for what you want,” she added.

Wimberly says The Missing Brick has achieved its success thanks to a strong community-focused vision and continued support from locals.

“It’s overwhelming,” Wimberly says. “We have not only been embraced by not only the community but our neighborhood…we are selling out daily because we make our dough fresh daily.”

Although The Missing Brick has experienced immense success so far, as a Black-owned, family-run business competing with commercialized chain restaurants, their success is hard fought.

“To be highlighted… to be celebrated is beautiful. Especially during this time,” Wimberly said. “It’s these small businesses that keep our community alive, that recycle our dollars back into our community [and they] need to be shared on a bigger scale.”

For more information about The Missing Brick, check out their website by clicking here. To see more photos and reviews by local Yelpers, check out their Yelp profile. You can also connect with them on social media via Facebook and Instagram.

Looking to support other Black-owned businesses in the circle city? Check out:

• Chef Tia and Co.
• Tea’s Me Café
• His Place Eatery
• F.I.T. With Renee

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