Back Road Brewery in LaPorte closed after 24 years.
One of Northwest Indiana's oldest craft breweries has brewed its last barrel of ale.
Back Road Brewery in LaPorte — dubbed by some as a blue-collar, working man's brewery without any fancy pretensions — closed after 24 years.
The phone was disconnected, the brewery at 308 Perry St. in LaPorte was shuttered, and the owner could not be reached for comment.
"It's an end of an era. ... Tonight we bid farewell to Back Road Brewery as we poured the last pint of Back Road Ale tonight," longtime customer Heston Supper Club posted two weeks ago. "Thank you to Chuck Krcilek for providing delicious beers all these years! You will be missed!!!"
The brewery opened in an industrial area near downtown LaPorte in 1996, the same year that 3 Floyds started brewing and Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery took over an old train station in Flossmoor. Krcilek had been a home brewer since 1990 who loved brewing beer and decided to open LaPorte's first production craft brewery.
Back Road Brewery operated a seven-barrel system that produced 40 different beers per year, selling them on-site and around the Region. It distributed bottled beer to liquor stores and kegs to pubs in Northwest Indiana, South Bend, Lafayette and occasionally Indianapolis.
The brewery, in an old warehouse at Lake Street and Tyler Street, specialized in unfiltered ales but also did lagers in the summer.
Its tasting room was known for being no-frills, similar to a garage or basement hangout spot where the walls were lined with craft beer coasters and stickers from various craft breweries around the Midwest and beyond. Strictly a brewery, it focused on the beer and did not serve food, other than a few light snacks, such as chips with house-made salsa.
Back Road held a popular Oktoberfest celebration in LaPorte every year and participated in various local craft beer festivals. The brewery was especially known for its Back Road Ale, Midwest IPA, Belle Guinness Stout, Blueberry Ale, Maple City Gold, Black Mosaic, Red Ale, Scottish Ale and Autumn Ale.
Figure Eight Brewing in downtown Valparaiso also closed last year, as did 3 Floyds brewpub in Munster because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The closing leaves LaPorte without a production craft brewery. Burn 'Em Brewery in nearby Michigan City does, however, operate the Bare Bones Gastropub in downtown LaPorte, where it sells growlers of its fresh brewed beer to-go.
NWI Business Ins and Outs
Kid's hair salon opened in Schererville
Unlike nearly every other person that has ever been interviewed for a column dedicated in part to new business openings, Aylin Cornejo not only never dreamed of opening her own business, she actively resisted the idea.
"I never expected, for the longest time, to own any kind of business," the longtime hair stylist said. "That's just where my head was at. But when I started working with kids, I found I wanted to do more for them. I started listening to my parents, who had been convincing me to open my own salon. I didn't want to, but then I saw it was a way to work more with kids."
Cornejo ended up opening Whimsy Do's Kids' Salon in the same plaza with Longshots Sports Bar at 2313 Indianapolis Blvd. in Schererville. The kids' hair salon for ages 0 to 18 is every child's dream, with Fisher-Price Power Wheel cars standing in as salon chairs, TVs at every booth playing cartoons all day long, coloring pages with crayons, stickers, suckers and a wall painted with murals of characters like a princess, a knight, a witch, a wizard, a unicorn, a fairy and other mythological creatures. Whimsy Do's also has tablets and X-Boxes on hand for kids who get bored with everything else.
"I just thought of things I would have enjoyed as a kid," Cornejo said. "We have a little bit of everything. A lot of kids are scared of the clipper. It's a new experience for them. I really enjoying working with kids and this is something I can help them and their families do to get closer toward sitting down for a haircut."
'With children you have to be extra patient'
Whimsy Do's serves kids of all ages, but would be especially useful for younger kids not yet acclimated to getting their hair cut. Cornejo said her salon could potentially draw young parents from around Northwest Indiana.
"With children you have to be extra patient and upbeat and positive," she said. "It's not like adults, where you have a conversation with them. It's a little bit harder cutting their hair. For some kids, it's almost impossible. They won't feel comfortable with you touching their hair. You just do your best and stay positive."
Whimsy Do's employs three stylists and a receptionist. It accepts walk-ins but recommends appointments, especially during the pandemic.
Cornejo said she eventually hopes to expand the concept across Northwest Indiana and beyond.
"I would like to be part of people's childhood experiences," she said. "Later down the line I would like to help raise money for kids and different places in the community."
The hair salon is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, visit whimsydos.com, call 219-627-3498 or find the business on Facebook.
Stride is opening in Crown Point
Stride, a boutique fitness studio for treadmill-based interval training, is racing into Crown Point.
The suburban Los Angeles-based chain of indoor running and walking studios plans to open its first Northwest Indiana location at 10835 Broadway, Ste. A122 on Feb.5.
Owners Bryan and Hannah Cliver opened the treadmill-based cardio-strength interval training studio, which is operated by general manager Misty Walker, because they're true believers in its product. Bryan Cliver worked in logistics and distribution for a long time but always maintained a passion for health and wellness.
The Clivers always dreamed of running a business of their own and believe Stride was well-suited to Crown Point and its booming residential and retail growth.
“Running has had a profound impact on my life and has become a passion of mine,” Bryan Cliver said. “Hannah and I are excited to bring Stride to the community and help our members throughout their fitness journey. Our welcoming environment is here to make members feel supported in a group setting where they can focus on achieving their individual goals.”
Stride will celebrate its arrival in Crown Point with a weekend of free classes.
Founded in Pasadena in 2017, the chain of boutique gyms backed by Xponential Fitness seeks to tap into the market of 60 million runners and 110 million self-identified walkers in the United States. It offers classes on state-of-the-art Woodway Treadmills in three different formats that account for different fitness abilities and goals. The coach-led classes aim to encourage people to walk, jog and run while combining endurance-based cardio with strength training in a supportive and welcoming environment.
For more information, visit www.runwithstride.com/location/crown-point, call 219-779-8440 or find the business on Facebook and Instagram.
Blueberry Hill opened in Portage
Blueberry Hill Pancake House, a popular breakfast diner downstate, has arrived in Northwest Indiana with a new location in Portage.
The traditional American breakfast joint has opened at 2606 Portage Mall in Portage.
The Mooresville-based chain offers biscuits and gravy, bacon, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, corned beef hash, grits and other favorites. It's the kind of place where one can slide into a booth for country fresh eggs or a breakfast steak cooked to order and served with an endless mug of coffee. One can load up for the day on skillets or omelettes, like spinach and feta or mushroom and cheese. The expansive lunch menu includes burgers, salads, soups and sandwiches like clubs, Manhattans, melts, paninis, croissant, BLTs, Ruebens, gyros, Italian beef and ribeye steak.
It also has entrees like pasta, stir-fry, seafood, chopped steak, fried chicken and liver and onions.
For more information, call 219-850-4592, visit blueberryhillpancakehouse.com or find the business on Facebook.
Duneland Deli Station opened in Chesterton
Duneland Deli Station is serving up sandwiches both hot and cold at 1050 Broadway, Suite 2.
The quick-serve sub shop offers sandwiches like Italian, oven-roasted turkey, beef pastrami, Italian beef, pulled pork and meatball. It also has salads, soups and sides like mac and cheese available for pickup.
Owner Michael Griffith worked in chain sub shops and decided to go into business for himself after retiring as a mechanic.
The restaurant in the old factory building offers both dine-in and pick-up.
"We're conveniently located on the west end of town," he said. "We're more catered to the townies than if we were on Indian Boundary Road and serving the tourists."
Griffith spent 10 months renovating a space that formerly belonged to Val's Pizza, a gun shop and several other businesses. He did everything but the plumbing and electrical, creating a railway-like ambiance.
"I'm not into trains but it's hard to avoid trains when you live in Chesterton," he said.
The restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches, including top sellers like the Italian beef and new additions like a Cuban called the Havana Express. Soups include broccoli cheddar, chili, fire-roasted veggie and the best-selling chicken dumpling.
"We're basically an independent sandwich shop. We were worried opening in the middle of COVID-19, but the community has been supportive and we've been surprisingly busy here," he said.
It recently added dessert, including gelato from Michigan.
"We started off pretty basic because of the pandemic, but have been adding more signature style sandwiches like pulled pork," he said. "We make everything fresh. We slice the meat fresh every day. We slice the pickles fresh. Everything is sliced fresh."
The 2,000-square-foot restaurant can seat up to 40 diners, but focuses on takeout. It plans to eventually offer delivery, potentially through third-party vendors, but hasn't been able to find people to handle deliveries during the pandemic.
"We just want to keep striving to get better," he said. "I missed serving the public and interacting with people day-to-day. I'm definitely getting back to that. We're sort of along the lines of Subway or Jimmy John's but we take it to another level."
For more information, call 219-265-1293 or find the business on Facebook.
CiCi's Pizza closed in Portage
CiCi's Pizza, the cheap pizza buffet, no longer has any locations in the Region.
The chain filed for bankruptcy last week.
The family-style pizzeria, which offered an unlimited pizza buffet for $5.99, closed its last Northwest Indiana location at 6028 Central Ave. in the Meadows Shopping Center in Portage last year after it shuttered at the Crossroads of America intersection in Schererville.
Longtime Greek diner shutters
Longtime downtown Hammond staple Nick & George's is no more after losing its lease.
The family-style diner at 5850 Hohman Ave. was known especially for its monster steak sandwiches, beef noodle soup and bacon cheeseburger. It has been around for more than a half century.
The Greek-owned restaurant had previously been located at Sibley Avenue and State Street. It served downtown denizens, hospital workers, courthouse employees and anyone who passed through the thicket of lately forlorn high-rises in downtown Hammond.
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.
