February 3, 2025
By A.J. Baime
Photography by Jeff Marini
St. Elmo in Indianapolis is older than the Brickyard itself.
THIS PAST JANUARY, a group of Indy 500 winners—who are also current IndyCar drivers—gathered for a dinner at the famed St. Elmo Steak House in downtown Indianapolis. Defending champ Josef Newgarden was there, as were Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon, and Marcus Ericsson. IndyCar president Jay Frye was present along with Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles. The group met to talk through exciting new developments regarding the 2024 season, and what better place to do it? St. Elmo has a specialty that makes it unlike any other hot spot on earth.
The place serves a world-famous shrimp cocktail. But that’s not what this is about. St. Elmo’s real specialty is the fact that for more than 100 years, it has been the de facto clubhouse for Indy drivers, executives from the IndyCar series and its teams, and the powerhouses of the Brickyard organization itself—anybody who’s anybody on the American racing scene.
“I had my face fried off by the cocktail sauce,” Jimmie Johnson says. “I still go back every year.”
“It’s the place to see the drivers, team owners, IMS leadership, celebrities, and fans in town for a big event,” says Craig Huse, who owns the restaurant with his father and brother.
“If walls could speak . . .” adds Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske and father of current NASCAR driver Austin Cindric. He’s not kidding: The walls are crowded with portraits of racing heroes who’ve been regulars, from A.J. and Mario to old-timers from back before color photography.
On any given day in May, you might find your favorite IndyCar driver, past or present, among the crowd at the bar.
Let’s start with the appetizer: the shrimp. “The first time I ever went to Indy,” recalls Jimmie Johnson, a four-time Brickyard 400 winner, “we had to go. And I had my face fried off by the cocktail sauce. I still go back every year.”
The YouTube dining channel Insider Food has called it “the spiciest shrimp cocktail in America.” St. Elmo serves over 48,600 pounds of shrimp annually—equivalent to the weight of nearly 13 new Ford Mustang EcoBoost Fastbacks. The kitchen whips out over 3800 gallons of sauce every year, enough to fill a swimming pool you could crash an Indy race car into.
Owners Craig and Steve Huse with the house specialty. St. Elmo slings over 48,600 pounds of shrimp annually.
“I’m convinced that 70 percent of people don’t actually enjoy it,” says Indy 500 pole winner James “Hinch” Hinchcliffe. “They’re all crying, noses running, trying to drink as much water as they can while feigning a smile. But you simply have to have it!”
The crustacean’s popularity has grown through the decades, as has its price. A St. Elmo shrimp cocktail went for 30 cents in 1947. It climbed to $3.95 in 1976. Today it’s $19.95 and the only appetizer on the menu—not including salads. Try the blue-cheesy Chopped BLT ($14).
St. Elmo’s wall of fame teems with race-car drivers. Lyn St. James (center) was the Indy 500’s first female rookie of the year in 1992.
But that’s not what keeps people coming back. The main course is the clientele. How did St. Elmo become the place for major race-car drivers to see and be seen? “We like to think that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and St. Elmo are synonymous with Indy,” says Huse, whose restaurant was founded in 1902. “St. Elmo got a nine-year head start on the Indianapolis 500. And the two iconic organizations have been tied closely ever since.”
It helps that, for many years, it was the only good spot downtown. And that the conversation can get as saucy as the béarnaise ($5). “I have been a customer going back to 1965,” Mario Andretti says, recalling his rookie year at Indy. “This was the place to go. And it still is today. You just always wind up there. There’s no other place that anybody thinks about. A lot of good things have happened there. And of course, memories of the shrimp. You can overdo it, and it’ll kill you!”
If you’ve ever raced at the Brickyard, there’s a good chance that this guy has brought you a drink.
The neon number refers to St. Elmo’s address, 127 South Illinois Street.
“The first time I was in there, I was on the lookout, hopeful to see one of my heroes,” Johnson recalls. Now he has become one of the heroes, and young guns come in to see the likes of him.
“Drivers are competitive,” Hinch adds, “so once one guy goes there, everybody has to be in on it. It’s great seeing the old photos of drivers from back in the day, and I’m sure that helps fuel the desire for each generation to keep going back.”
For the intestinally challenged: Reliable sources say you can ask for a less-than-seething-hot cocktail sauce.
If you can, reserve the room in the wine cellar, where more than 12,000 bottles are aging. The most expensive: Château Lafite Rothschild from 1902 ($8500). “We call the wine room the Mafia room,” Cindric says. “There are so many good memories down there from both a racing and a personal side.”
If you get to St. Elmo in May, you’re likely to see Roger Penske holding court. Or your favorite current driver chewing on a USDA Prime Tom-A-Hawk Ribeye ($150). Here’s a hint for the faint of heart: “I hope I don’t get called out for saying this,” Johnson says, “but I found out that they have a less hot option for the cocktail sauce that you have to ask for.”
ST.ELMO’S FIRE – Read this story on Magzter.com
