The largest storefront in the Geist Center on Fox Road opened as a grocery, lost two grocers, and then sat empty. Since Sept. 1, 2026, it has been Slick City Action Park, a 55,000-square-foot indoor park with 16 dry slides, air courts and an arcade. The timing matters around the reservoir. The boats are coming out of the water, and the strip that lost its anchor now has a new one, sitting beside a café, a Tex-Mex kitchen and a steak-and-seafood house.

The new anchor isn't a grocery. It's a reason to spend an entire cold afternoon in one parking lot on the south shore.

A Building That Outlasted Its Grocers

The building started out as a Marsh grocery store. After the Marsh closed, Needler's Fresh Market took over the store. WTHR reported that Needler's ran it for "not even two years" and then announced it would close on a Friday, Feb. 1, because the location had not been able to "sustain sales level(s) to remain profitable." Needler's said its 11 other stores in Indiana and Ohio would stay open.

Here is how the building got from that closing to this fall:

1. Marsh runs the grocery store on Fox Road.
2. Needler's Fresh Market takes it over and closes it in under two years.
3. Early 2025: renovation begins on the vacant 55,000-square-foot building.
4. July 2025: Current in Fishers reports that Slick City is under construction and expected to open by the end of that year.
5. Aug. 11, 2026: Current reports an opening planned for "later this month," with no exact date set.
6. Sept. 1, 2026: Slick City opens.

So the opening came about eight months after the original target. Co-owner Eddie Wilson told Current the renovation "was more involved than he'd anticipated." In 2025 he had also explained why an old grocery store suits this kind of business. Both of his franchise locations are in former grocery stores, and he said their large open spaces and tall ceilings work well for slides. A grocery floor plan that two operators couldn't keep stocked turned out to be the right shape for this tenant.

One detail surprises people who think of this corner as part of Fishers. Current's 2025 preview listed the site as 11625 Fox Rd. in Lawrence. Slick City's own site and WISH-TV use 11621 Fox Road. Whichever number ends up on your map app, the building sits on the south shore, and every outlet calls it a Geist location.

What Now Fills the Old Grocery Aisles

The space inside is large enough that a family can split up. WISH-TV reported that the climate-controlled building holds more than 1,000 guests. Past the main admission area there is a full-scale, 100-seat arcade, and there are four sport courts for basketball and dodgeball. The air courts use inflated floors, so players bounce much higher than on a normal court. Wilson told Current the courts stay packed and players get worn out quickly, which parents appreciate.

According to Wilson, the yellow Mega Launch slides draw the most riders. The park also has a zipline and a Hypergrid, an interactive floor game for one to six players with four different games. Younger children have their own section with smaller slides. A seating area in the middle of the building lets adults watch from a chair, and a room in the back can be reserved for birthday parties and corporate events.

"I look at this as selling joy. I mean, all the kids coming here are smiling, laughing, and you can't have a bad day here." Eddie Wilson, co-owner, speaking to Current in Fishers about a week after opening

What a Saturday Costs, as Posted in October

The location page lists admission by length of stay. These are the posted rates as of Oct. 5, 2026:

Before you plan a visit around ages, note that two age cutoffs apply. The Junior ticket covers ages 3 and under, but the Junior Jungle play area is open to children 5 and under. WISH-TV reported that memberships are on sale, but the location page doesn't post membership rates, so you'll need to ask at the desk.

For most of October, the posted calendar shows 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Opening shifts to 1 p.m. from Oct. 26 through Oct. 28. Three programs are still listed as coming soon:

• Sensory Hours: lower-volume, less-crowded sessions open to all ages
• Adults Only Night: ages 18 and up
• Little Sliders Club: ages 7 and under

Adults Only Night is the one to watch. Once it launches, the building will stop being only a place adults take children and become one more evening option in a strip that already has a bar with live music.

The Neighbors That Turn One Stop Into an Afternoon

The action park is the new piece. The businesses around it are what make the Geist Center worth a full afternoon.

The Groovy Café, 11659 Fox Road. This café opened on Aug. 13, 2022, as The Groovy Cat Cafe. Lisa Sweeney founded it with her family, decorated it in 1970s style, and built the menu around fancy toasts, breakfast sandwiches and a tomato pesto grilled cheese. In October 2024, Lisa and Craig Stonebraker took ownership. The café now makes its own syrups, dressings and desserts, and it sources from Indiana companies including Tinker Coffee, Nelson's Tea and DeBrand Chocolate. It has a fireplace, a community table, and room to sit with a book or a crossword. The café opened about two and a half years before renovation started next door.

La Hacienda, 11677 Fox Road. This Fox Road location of the Tex-Mex restaurant posts its hours and menu online and takes orders online. That's useful when a 90-minute session ends at dinnertime and nobody wants to sit down.

Murphys Craft House, 11705 Fox Road. Murphys bills itself as steak, seafood and spirits and says it has served the community for more than 20 years. It pours 16 craft beers, eight red wines and eight white wines on tap, along with a bourbon list for cocktails. Local musicians play Wednesday nights at 8 p.m., with occasional shows on Friday and Saturday. Specials and events are posted daily on the restaurant's Facebook page.

Taken together, the businesses cover a full cold day in order:

1. Coffee at The Groovy Café by the fireplace.
2. A 90- or 120-minute session at Slick City, with the adults in the center seating area.
3. Takeout from La Hacienda for the drive home, or a table at Murphys Craft House.
4. On a Wednesday, the 8 p.m. set at Murphys for anyone still out.

In July 2025, Current described the building as vacant. Now the lights are on until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and the café, the Tex-Mex kitchen and the steakhouse finally have an anchor that brings people into the lot for 90 minutes at a time.

As of this month, the old Marsh on Fox Road no longer sells groceries. It sells two hours of slides, and dinner is a few doors down.

Changes like a vacant anchor coming back to life are part of what shapes a home's value along the south shore. If you'd like to know how the new Geist Center fits into the value of your own home, Allen Williams and the Williams Richwine Real Estate Group will walk you through it. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation.