House-ground burgers, sausage planned at new Mass Ave. restaurant Krueger's Tavern

A Cincinnati company behind crazy popular Mass Ave. restaurants Bakersfield (tacos) and The Eagle (fried chicken) adds burger, sausage and canned craft beer place Krueger’s Tavern this fall in a near takeover of the Downtown strip’s Delaware Street crossroads.

The restaurants are so close together that Bakersfield guests will be able to walk from the patio there into 120-seat Krueger’s, 323 N. Delaware St., through a rear roll-up door. Folks on The Eagle's patio could yell to guests on Krueger's patio.

Together, the three restaurants accommodate around 600 people, and owner Thunderdome Restaurant Group continues nosing around the Indianapolis area for opportunities.

“I don’t have anything to announce yet, but we’re definitely interested in continuing what we’re doing Downtown but also looking in other parts of town,” Thunderdome co-founder Joe Lanni said.

Named after the first brewing company to put beer in cans, Krueger’s original location, which debuted in December 2014 in Cincinnati., has 44 canned beers on its list.

House-ground meats go into every burger and sausage, as well as meatballs.

Most of the six burgers offered are classics, but each one is a double, including the ghost pepper jack cheeseburger with spicy homemade pickles and chipotle habanero slaw. The lamb stack sports feta, tzatziki, tomatoes, red onion and arugula, lemon vinaigrette on a challah bun.

World flavors dictate sausage plates. North African merguez lands with chermoula sauce on spicy lentils. Italian sausage rests with olives, braised fennel and parmesan cheese on a polenta cake. Guinness-braised onions crown an Irish-style dish of sausage on colcannon blending wilted kale and mashed potatoes.

Beef and Italian sausage, plus ricotta cheese, make up meatballs loaded into a sandwich with provolone cheese, pesto mayonnaise and the olive-studded tomato sauce Italians call "puttanesca."

Snacks, including tomato jam, pesto and whipped ricotta layered in a jar alongside toasted French bread, and side dishes such as fries to dip in malt vinegar mayonnaise, are on the menu, too.

Prices range from $4 to $12.

Thunderdome operates seven brands divided among 36 restaurants. Many are in Ohio, but The Eagle is also in Louisville, and Bakersfield is in Detroit, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, N.C. Healthy, quick-service Currito serves "globally inspired" food and drink in the Midwest, Northeast and Florida.