Lakeshore PBS, Northwest Indiana's local Public Broadcasting System affiliate, won four national Telly Awards, including PBS' highest honor.
“We are thrilled that our work — showcasing some of the great stories to come out of Northwest Indiana and Chicago — has been recognized with these prestigious national awards,” said Lakeshore Public Media President and CEO James Muhammad. “Receiving a Gold Telly Award is truly a great honor.”
Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards honor the best in television and video. The Merrillville-based PBS station won Telly Awards from among 12,000 entries from 50 states and five continents.
The annual Maple Sugar Festival at the Chellberg Farm went virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See the process of how the syrup is made.
“To be nominated against stations and production companies from all across the county validates our efforts and our long-running commitment to serve our audience with quality,” Muhammad said. “We are so incredibly proud of our team and the work they do every day.”
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Lakeshore PBS won a gold award in the Television-Public Interest/Awareness category and a bronze award in the Television-History category for a segment from "Friends & Neighbors" about the old Joliet prison. It also won a silver award in the Television-Cultural category for an "Eye on the Arts" segment showcasing Reddel Memorial Organ in the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University.
"On behalf of Valparaiso University, I'd like to share my heartfelt congratulations with Lakeshore Public Media for being recognized by the Telly Awards,” Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla said. “Lakeshore is a great community partner, and their creative work showcasing the beautiful Chapel of the Resurrection is truly deserving of this honor."
The half-hour-long "Friends & Neighbors" show features good things local people are doing across Northwest Indiana. Also a half-hour-long, "Eye on the Arts" highlights local artists and arts groups in the Region.
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“To be recognized nationally for segments we produce for 'Friends & Neighbors' and 'Eye on the Arts' validates our efforts to share some of our local stories to people wherever they are,” Muhammad said. “Whether it is on broadcast television in Chicagoland or through our online platforms to people across the globe, Lakeshore PBS is committed to being a source for quality storytelling.”
Lakeshore Public Media also won a Non-Broadcast-Public Awareness category award for the short video "There’s No Place Like Home."
Broadcast over the air on Channel 56, Lakeshore PBS reaches households across Chicagoland. It produces local shows like "In Studio" and "Prep Football Report" as well as syndicated NPR shows and Ken Burns documentaries and classic movies.
For more information, visit lakeshorepbs.org.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: The Bake Shop, Bowler Man Confections, Frankie's Philly Steak, Smoochie Pooch, dental office, laser hair removal open
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Irish Touch Pet Grooming opened in downtown Chesterton last last year.
The business at 207 Broadway in Chesterton offers total pet care, including professional grooming, nail trimming, deshedding and pet skin therapy.
Irish Touch Pet Grooming sees pets by appointment only.
The business is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
For more information, call 219-728-9250, visit irishtouchpetgrooming.com or find the business on Facebook.
Open
Keon Thompson worked as a steelworker at Gary Works for more than 20 years.
But he got weary of the grueling lifestyle.
"I had been at the mill for 20 years. It was all I knew," he said. "But I got tired of the work schedule and not being able to control my time."
Thompson, who had been doing baking on the side after learning the art from his grandmother, decided to strike out in business for himself.
So he took a buyout from U.S. Steel and started The Bake Shop at 7606 Broadway in Merrillville, in the same strip mall as the El Poblano Mexican restaurant. The bakery makes sweets like cupcakes, cookies, banana pudding bundt cakes and German chocolate cake.
"It used to be Grandeur Sweets," Thompson said. "It's a great location, not even a block north of the police station."
'We specialize in what nobody else is making'
The Bake Shop makes a variety of cupcakes fresh daily, including German chocolate, chocolate, vanilla, peach cobbler, sweet potato, lemon blueberry, strawberry and strawberry lemon. It offers a selection of best sellers and new stuff Thompson wants to try.
"We specialize in what nobody else is making," he said. "We do peach cobbler pound cake and banana pudding cookies. We do all types of sweets. I try to stay creative and am willing to try new stuff."
'I like to try new things'
The bakery does catering jobs of any size, asking for more than a week's notice for any orders of more than 100 baked goods.
The Bake Shop plans to hawk its sweets at various festivals around Northwest Indiana this summer.
"Long-term I'd like to open locations in a couple of different states," Thompson said. "I find baking relaxes me. And I like to see people try new things and see people's reaction. I try to make good stuff and I enjoy doing it."
Current hours
The Bake Shop is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday and will likely extend its hours to weekdays as the coronavirus pandemic wears down.
For more information, call 219-525-4568, visit thebakeshop219.com or find the business on Facebook.
Coming soon
A new artisan sweet shop is coming to downtown Michigan City.
Bowler Man Confections is opening in the 717 Franklin St. building in the Uptown Arts District. It's the latest project of Chef Michael Joyner and Amanda Joyner, a hatmaker who also owns the Chef Bizzaro Millinery, the "seriously unserious millinery" whose clients include Brits and Kentucky Derby attendees.
"It has been a long journey to this point, but we are excited to announce Bowler Man Confections finally has a brick-and-mortar location in the Uptown Arts District of Michigan City, Indiana," the owners announced. "Bean-to-bar chocolates, brownie truffles and bon-bon bars are just a few of the treats in store for those who stop by. Bowler Man Confections is the long-time passion project of Michael and Amanda Joyner, who are both seasoned pastry chefs, and are finally ready to take the leap into their dreams. Confections are just the starting point for their plans with more exciting things still hidden under their hats."
The wholesale bakery and dessert shop offers artisan "uncommon handcrafted" treats like cherry pistachio bars and chocolate bells.
A grand opening is planned on the Uptown Arts District First Friday event on June 4.
For more information, email bowlermanconfections@gmail.com, visit www.bowlermanconfections.com or call 219-395-6266.
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Smoochie Pooch is now grooming pets in Schererville, promising to return them feeling "safe, happy and clean."
The grooming service offers dog grooming, cat grooming, skin care, a shedding relief treatment, mineral red hydration, teeth brushing and coat maintenance. Pet owners can also pamper their puppies with premium services, including sessions at a hydro-massage ozone spa.
Smoochie Pooch opened at 304 W. Lincoln Highway in Lincoln Ridge Plaza in Schererville. The business also has locations in Valparaiso, Crown Point, Portage and Fort Wayne. It also has mobile groomers who travel around Northwest Indiana to groom pets at customers' homes.
The business is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For more information, call 219-312-7362, email info@smoochie-pooch.com or visit smoochie-pooch.com.
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Frankie's Philly Steak is serving up East Coast classics and Chicagoland favorites at 7530 Calumet Ave. in south Hammond.
The fast food joint offers dine-in in a dining room filled with Chicago sports memorabilia, such as historic photos of the Bulls, Bears and White Sox. It also has pickup one can call ahead for, curbside pickup and delivery of both hot food and cold beer — single cans, six packs and 12 packs.
The menu includes Philly steaks sliced in house daily, Philly chicken sandwiches, hoagies, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, Chicago-style hotdogs, beef polishes, Maxwell polishes, Italian beef, Italian sausage, Italian beef and sausage combo, chili cheese dogs, gyros, shrimp baskets, ribeye steak sandwiches, Reubens, corned beef on rye, patty melts, nachos and salads. Appetizers include pizza puffs, mushrooms, onion rings and okra.
It also has desserts like cake and cheesecake, and ice cream shakes and slushy lemonades.
For more information, call 219-228-6100.
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Milan Laser Hair Removal has come to Schererville.
The laser hair removal service took over the former Supercuts barber shop at 136 U.S. 41 in the Town Square Shopping Center. It removes all types of unwanted hair anywhere on the body, including lips, legs and underarms, over the course of repeated treatments.
Part of a national chain with locations across the country, including in Valparaiso, Milan Laser Hair Removal is open in Schererville from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
For more information, visit milanlaserchicago.com or call 219-209-4334.
Coming soon
Dr. Koufos & Associates Orthopedic Specialists is opening soon in the former site of Dante's House of Pizza on 45th Street in Munster before it moved down the street next to Danny Z's Grub and Pub.
Dr. Michael Koufos, a Munster native and Munster High School graduate, has practiced orthodontics since 1988, with offices in Munster and St. John. His practice has treated more than 13,000 patients.
He studied at Indiana University and cut his teeth at Orthodontics Inc., where he worked with Dr. Joseph R. Jarabak, a world-renowned and widely published orthodonist who served as a personal inspiration to him. He now serves as an an adjunct visiting clinical professor for Indiana University's Department of Orthodontics and Oral Facial Genetics and as an assistant instructor for the McLaughlin Program in San Diego.
He has given lectures, including at the Burstone Symposium and the Conferinta Dental Focus in Paltinis, Romania. Koufos has served as a delegate to the American Dental Association and speaker of the Indiana Dental Association House of Delegates.
Koufos serves as team dentist for Munster High School Athletics, has made mouthguards for the Mustangs football team for more than 25 years, and supports other athletic programs, including in Lake Central and Crown Point.
A grand opening is slated for June.
For more information, visit ww.orthospcs.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.
