The Indiana Manufacturers Association has inducted NIPSCO into its Manufacturers Hall of Fame.
Founded in 1912, the NiSource subsidiary provides natural gas to 821,000 homes and businesses across Northern Indiana and provides another 468,000 customers with electricity. The Merrillville-based utility which had been the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in Northwest Indiana before splitting off its pipeline business, now ranks as the largest natural gas utility in Indiana and the second-largest electric distribution company.
During a Thursday luncheon, the IMA inducted NIPSCO, Peerless Machine & Tool Corp. of Marion, R & R Engineering Co. of Summitville, Elliott Co. of Indianapolis and IDI Composites International of Noblesville. The trade association, representing more than 1,100 manufacturers across the state, recognized companies that made substantial contributions to the manufacturing industry in the Hoosier State.
The trade group also honored Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana in Princeton as its Community Impact winner, Justyna Rohrig of General Motors Corp. in Bedford as its Emerging Leader winner, and Paul Perkins with Amatrol in Jeffersonville as its Lifetime Achievement winner.
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Brampton Brick of Farmersburg and Wabash National Corporation of Lafayette were Innovation Excellence winners. BWX Technologies of Mount Vernon and QuikCut of Fort Wayne were the Manufacturing Talent Champion winners.
"We are extremely proud of all of the companies awarded today. These individuals and companies and their employees are the lifeblood of Indiana's economy," Indiana Manufacturers Association President and CEO Brian Burton said. "Throughout the pandemic and continuing today, manufacturers have led the way and continue to break new ground through connection and innovation. Hoosier manufacturers continually rise to challenges by finding new and inventive ways to achieve success."
The second oldest manufacturers association in the country, the Indiana Manufacturer's Association represents the sector that employs for the largest share of the workforce in Indiana. Dating back to 1901, it promotes the interests of manufacturers and the sector.
For more information, visit www.indianamfg.com.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Ramen District, Aldi, artisan popcorn and paleta shop and U-Haul rental sites opening
Opening
Historic downtown Crown Point is now the Ramen District.
Provecho Latin Provisions' much anticipated Ramen District opens Wednesday at the north entrance of the Old Courthouse at 1 Courthouse Square. The doors will remain open at night, longer than the rest of the courthouse shops.
Meraki Hospitality Group describes it as "an exhilarating concept brought to you by Chef Chris Pappas" that "brings a fresh and hip experience to the historic Old Lake County Court House."
"It's in the basement of the courthouse at the north entrance," he said. "We're developing this space in conjunction with the catering contract we got in January. It brings something different and eclectic to the square."
The restaurant will serve Japanese cuisine like rice, sake and ramen. Forget the instant Ramen that's less than a quarter a pack and a staple of many college students' diets. This is a trendy Japanese noodle soup, a popular street food in Japan that's traditionally served with ingredients like pork belly, miso, hard-boiled eggs, seaweed and scallions.
Ramen District simmers all its broths for at least 18 hours, making stock with bones from a local farm.
Provecho won a ramen contest at Zorn Brewing in Michigan City and decided to have ramen pop-ups.
"We got a very good response in the ramen competitions," he said. "It all started with winning the competitions. We felt like nobody else was doing it in the area."
It was a hit that was sold out quickly after being shared widely on social media.
"Our pop-ups got a lot of support," he said. "It was the proof of concept for a brick-and-mortar."
The restaurant will seat about 40 to 50 diners.
"The menu will be very small, just three bowls of Ramen at a time, shared plates and sake flights," he said.
'Unique cuisine made approachable'
Ramen District partnered with Crown Brewing in Crown Point on an Asian pear beer and Howe Farms outside Crown Point on tonkatsu, or Japanese breaded deep-fried pork cutlet.
"It's a unique cuisine that we've made approachable for people," he said. "We make the stock from scratch from Howe Farms. We make these hearty broths. The focus is on the quality."
The restaurant will be first come, first serve. It will not accept reservations. It will offer takeout and delivery through DoorDash and its own website, taking orders online.
"It's a small kitchen in a small space," he said. "We'll also be using it for the weddings upstairs. It's multitasking."
Ramen District took a while to open because it was difficult to find enough staff in the current labor market. But they have more than 25 employees to start, a staffing level Pappas feels comfortable with to provide a quality dining experience.
"We'll have house-made kimchi, fermented miso, pickled shishito peppers, bao buns, a Five Hands Farm salad, shrimp tempura and short rib gyoza," he said. "We'll be doing a pork belly and shrimp fried rice, drunken noodles and a ramen rotation. We'll start with chicken, veggie miso and Howe Farms tonkatsu. We'll have poached Asian pear for dessert."
Pappas said it's a unique dining offering for downtown Crown Point and one he thinks people will gravitate to during a night out on the town.
"It's a new concept in the courthouse," he said. "There's a lot of competition on the square with the parking, but I feel this is something people will seek out. It has so many elements. It's cool. It's approachable. It's new to our Northwest Indiana region and exciting to put it in front of people. We wanted to do something unique, not do what everybody else is doing."
Ramen District will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at first.
For more information, visit www.ramendistrict.com or call 219-663-0050.
Coming Thursday
Aldi opens a new supermarket in Chesterton Thursday.
The German discount grocery chain is pursuing "an aggressive expansion plan," opening 100 more stores across the United States this year. The company, one of the fastest-growing retailers in the United States, is investing more than $5 billion in building new and remodeling existing stores.
Aldi now has 2,000 supermarkets in 37 states, serving millions of customers a day. It's on track to become the third-largest grocery retailer by number of locations by the end of next year.
Its latest Northwest Indiana supermarket will open at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at 750 Indian Boundary Road in Chesterton. Aldi will give away quarter keychains and eco-friendly bags to celebrate.
“ALDI is one of America’s fastest-growing retailers because we offer a convenient shopping experience for affordable, on-trend and sustainable goods,” said Heather McCarthy, Valparaiso regional vice president for ALDI. “We have served this community for over 25 years and look forward to continuing to offer Chesterton residents high-quality, fresh foods and low prices in every ALDI aisle, every day.”
Most ALDI stores are just 12,000 square feet, far smaller than traditional grocery stores. A quarter is required to remove a shopping cart from the corral to ensure it will be returned, cutting down on the need for staff and the cost of overhead.
The stores are stocked with food and household essentials, typically many in-house private labels instead of name brands. About 90% of the products it stocks are exclusive to its stores, which it says enables it to offer low prices.
The company is expanding curbside pickup around the country. It plans to offer the service at 500 more stores, or 1,200 total, by year's end.
The Chesterton store will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information, visit shop.aldi.us.
Coming soon
A new shop will bring artisan popcorn and Mexican-style popsicles to the Tri-Town.Â
Poppin P'ah'letas is building out a space at 142 W. Lincoln Highway in the Lincoln Ridge Plaza in Schererville, according to a town building permit. It bills itself as an upscale specialty treat shop that also will service ice cream, waffle cones, waffle taco shells, waffle bowls and chocolates.
"The P’ah’leta a mouth-watering explosion is coming to Schererville, Indiana," the business said in a post. "We are so excited to be bringing these delicious fruit-flavored paletas to the area. If you're asking what are paletas, they are delicious frozen popsicles. They come in many different flavors, some are made with juice and others are cream milk-based. Always using the freshest natural fruit ingredients. The paleta originated in Latin America and has been a staple in the Hispanic community for centuries."
The 12-seat sweet shop will offer a wide and rotating array of paletas. It's looking to open in about four weeks.
"At Poppin P’ah’letas our specially made freezer will showcase the many different flavors we will have," the business posted. "The flavors are endless and will continue to change to please our customers."
For more information, find Poppin P'ah'letas on Facebook.
Relocated
Kennedy Avenue Chiropractic and Integrated Body and Medicine has moved from Hammond to Highland.
The business is now located at 8145 Kennedy Aven. in Highland. The practice offers a variety of health and wellness services, including chiropractic care, physical therapy, massage therapy, weight loss guidance, athletic wellness and personal injury. Dr. Ahmad Sprouse adjusts and aligns patients' spines while offering a holistic approach toward pain and health issues that includes advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle.
For more information, call 219-803-6651 or visit www.kennedyavechiro.com.
Open
U-Haul has lanched neighborhood dealerships at several local businesses to assist people who are moving or just need to move stuff around.
Z’s Shakes & Cakes at 1215 Broadway in Gary, NWI Quality Auto Sales at 597 W. U.S. Hwy. 30 in Valparaiso and The U-Stor-It locations at 8757 Louisiana St. in Mervillville and at 800 E. North St. in Crown Point will offer rentals of U-Haul trucks, trailers and towing equipment. They'll also offer moving supplies and boxes.
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'More than 20,000 dealers'
"U-Haul has teamed with independent dealers to offer moving equipment since 1945," U-Haul of Indiana said in a press release. "With the COVID-19 outbreak creating challenging times for small businesses, more than 20,000 dealers across the U.S. and Canada are creating supplemental income through their U-Haul partnership. When a customer rents from a U-Haul dealer, they are directly supporting an independent small business in their community."
For more information, visit uhaul.com.
If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
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Joseph S. Pete
Business Reporter
Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times since 2013 and blogs about craft beer, culture and the military.
