The Region is filled with desirable chain restaurants and stores like White Castle, Whole Foods and Dunkin Donuts. But there can always be more. Here's a few we'd like to see.
Trader Joe's
A few years ago, one of our reporters penned an open letter to Trader Joe's telling the boutique grocer "Northwest Indiana doesn't need you."
Well, now's the time to set the record straight: Joseph S. Pete is a bright, erudite observer of the Region business world, a credit to his profession, and a connoisseur of fine meats and cheeses. He's also a man who regrettably felt the need to make a pre-emptive strike against TJ's in order to protect himself and the Region from its inevitable rejection.
It's understandable. Sometimes you leave a flurry of late-night messages on someone's voicemail and have to call things off before they even get started.
But let's stop lying to ourselves.
As glorious as the Region arrival of overpriced asparagus water was in the fall of 2015, it will pale in comparison to the day Regionites can finally buy Trader Joe's Dunkers in their own backyard.
Say what you will about the gratuitous piercings and tattoos its employees so eagerly sport, TJ's offerings are not only delicious, they are affordable and easy to prepare.
The frozen orange chicken, the array of curries, the pumpkin spices — it's all so scrumptious, savory and sweet that you don't even mind having to bag it all yourself.
So, yes, we still want you, Trader Joe's. And if you ever decide to make your way to the Region, we'll be waiting with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck... for both of us.
-- Matt Schubert
Intelligentsia
While each Intelligentsia coffee bar in the U.S. is unique in design and appearance, each spot has a minimalistic feel, much like its drink menu: single-origin coffee, hand-crafted espresso, macchiato, lattes, and a variety of loose leaf teas.
In other words, you won’t find Frappuccinos here.
The Black Cat Classic is its flagship espresso blend, and it’s been that way since the company got its start in 1995. Isn’t it refreshing to see a coffee chain so confident in its bean selection and roasting methods that its principal espresso has gone unchanged for more than two decades? The answer is yes.
Intelligentsia also prides itself on pioneering a “direct approach” to the coffee trade that involves direct relationships with growers, on-site visits to coffee farms and strict criteria on quality and price paid to farmers. If that’s not enough to seal the deal, the company offers hands-on coffee classes, where aspiring baristas can test out state-of-the-art equipment and learn the ins and outs of brewing coffee at home.
This coffee chain needs to find a home in the Region.
-- Lauren Cross
Binny's Beverage Depot
Binny's Beverage Depot is the Disney World of fine spirits retailers. There are plenty of places to buy booze in the Region, but none quite like Binny's.
Binny's is the largest liquor store chain in Chicago, and the most welcoming. Especially around the holidays. Like their tagline says, if you can't find it at Binny's, it's probably not worth drinking.
Binny's has stores as far south as Evergreen Park and Orland Park. But none in Indiana. And it probably won't happen anytime soon, thanks to state laws.
In a news story earlier this year, Binny's CEO Michael Binstein said Indiana retailers and their lobbyists "amassed at the border to keep us out."
Well, we still have places like Wise Guys and the special Region charm of others like the aptly-named Booze Liquors.
-- Rob Earnshaw
Shake Shack
Shake Shack started out as a hot dog cart in a New York City park in the early 2000s. Now there are more than 100 locations worldwide and Shake Shack is one of the fastest growing fast casual chains going.
The menu boasts burgers made out of 100 percent all natural Angus beef, hot dogs, frozen custard, shakes and crinklue cut fries. The restaurant's focus is on high quality ingredients with a simple presentation of classic American fare.
While Shake Shack has opened in such distant locales as Dubai and South Korea, there are three Chicago area locations for Regionites to nosh.
The burgeoning burger giant is in 16 states and Washington D.C. but no Indiana locations as of yet.
In May 2014, the chain earned a presidential seal of approval when President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden made a stop at a D.C. Shake Shack.
When asked why the power duo picked Shake Shack, Obama was quoted as saying the restaurant has "great burgers and pays its employees more than 10 bucks an hour."
-- Daniel Riordan
Ikea
Kids are sneaking into closets in IKEA stores and having "A Night at the Museum"-like sleepovers.
IKEA's asking people to please stop camping out in its cheap Swedish furniture wonderlands after the stunt two Belgian teens recently uploaded to YouTube inspired at least 10 others to try it out across the globe.
It's like the glamping trend but with more ligonberries, hex wrenches and confusing instructions.
The slumber parties in the airplane hangar-sized furniture showrooms show people's devotion to IKEA, a cult retailer that's furnished countless first homes and apartments around the world with its sensibly priced but stylish furniture.
Yes, there's an IKEA over in Bolingbrook. But who wants to schlep 40 minutes to the western suburbs when they could eat Swedish meatballs and ponder over which BILLY bookcase would look best in their living room closer to home?
IKEA is in the process of building a 289,000-square-foot store in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, and it's already spurred the creation of a neighboring $40 million culinary and entertainment complex called The Yard. The retailer should consider a similar expansion in the state's second largest metro area.
Imagine how awesome something like that would be, say, in the thriving retail corridor through Hobart and Merrillville.
-- Joseph S. Pete
Jamba Juice
We need in a Jamba Juice in the Region because we need more quick, healthy breakfast and lunch options.
Jamba Juice serves not only the vegetable and fruit smoothies it's famous for, but has added Energy Bowls, like the Island Pitaya Bowl. This one includes a blend of pineapple juice, bananas, strawberries, mangos and blueberries on top of organic pumpkin flax seed, granola, honey, chia seeds and coconut.
I know right?
For NWIans who find themselves running to and from appointments and work, Jamba Juice is a great way to not ruin your diet and get some mean superfoods in.
-- Summer Moore
J Crew
J. Crew, though it is struggling to find its way in recent years, is still the gold standard for women and men of all ages for quirky twists on standard prep styles.
Worrisome trends are it got rid of its wedding line, to the dismay of brides and bridesmaids everywhere, and it’s begun a line of athletic/leisure wear, which is a saturated market with others doing it better for less money. Still, it remains the retail go-to for statement necklaces and chandelier earrings, women’s pumps and flats, and seasonal sweaters, tops, skirts, dresses and slacks.
A J. Crew Factory would be the next-best thing and could do well positioned near Nordstrom Rack and Chico’s Outlet. There is a J. Crew Factory store in Michigan City, but it’d be great to have one in our backyard.
-- Crista Zivanovic
Primanti Bros.
Why have fries with a sandwich when you can have fries in your sandwich? Since 1933, Pittsburgh-based Primanti Bros. has been topping its grilled meat, coleslaw and tomato sandwiches on Italian bread with a heaping portion of French fries — originally so truck drivers and shift workers could eat one-handed. Its original location in Pittsburgh's Strip District still is open 24 hours for anyone craving a fast, filling meal. So far the company has two Indiana restaurants — in Indianapolis and Noblesville — with new locations opening in Avon and Greenwood in 2017.
-- Dan Carden
Native Foods Cafe
Fast food can be a tricky and risky venture for vegans, with the addition of animal products in so many of the menu items.
When animal-free items are finally identified, the menu typically shrinks so much as to make any meal far less than satisfying, let alone healthy.
A perfect solution would be opening a vegan fast-food restaurant in the Region, such as Native Foods Café.
The national chain operates three locations in Chicago with a dream menu for vegans, but with a commute for Region residents that wipes out the hope for fast food.
-- Bob Kasarda
Kuma's Corner
Kuma's original location is a darkened den in Chicago's Irving Park neighborhood that celebrates craft beer, burgers and heavy metal. The restaurant, established in 2005, has opened new locations in Schaumburg and Indianapolis, but none yet in Northwest Indiana.
How long will locals have to wait to taste an "American Nightmare" burger, topped with roasted pork belly, bacon-date jam and a cherry-bourbon reduction?
-- Steve Garrison
Tim Hortons
This donut, bakery and sandwich shop known for its "double-double" — a coffee with two creams and two sugars — is omnipresent throughout Canada, and slowly has been migrating south since its 2014 merger with Burger King.
The Hobart-based Luke Family of Brands announced in February 2016 that it would bring Tim Horton's maple donut goodness to Indianapolis and Lafayette in the near future, joining existing locations in Fort Wayne and Richmond run by a different operator. But so far the 4,492-unit chain, begun in Ontario in 1964 by, naturally, a professional hockey player, isn't yet on the Region's culinary radar.
-- Dan Carden
Jack In The Box
Jack In The Box has never been one to follow the rules.
Instead, the San Diego-based fast-food chain maintains its place at the vanguard of its industry by doing all the things the other guys won't.
Its 24-hour breakfast gave late-to-rise slackers the meal they had long been denied by McDonald's and the rest of the fast-food establishment.
Its inclusion of curly fries on the menu proved Arby's need not have a monopoly on the seasoned potato products market.
And its Jumbo Jack — pronounced "Yumbo Yack" by faithful patrons — gave alliteration the mass appeal it deserved.
What truly makes Jack In The Box transcendent, however, has nothing to do with food.
Rather, it's Jack himself — the big-headed man of mystery who hawks Jack In The Box's many fine offerings with a dry wit and devil-may-care smile. He is the one the Region needs.
The Jack antenna balls are an automobile adornment of the highest order. The television ads are comedy gold. And any street that features a Jack box piercing its skyline is all the better for it.
Add Jack to the Region's rich cultural tapestry, and there's no telling how far he might take us.
We just know it's a journey that is long overdue.
-- Matt Schubert
In-N-Out Burger
West Coast food fans have long had the pleasure of enjoying one of the best hamburgers around. Courtesy of In-N-Out Burger, diners have been consuming 100 percent American beef burgers with no additives, fillers and preservatives since 1948.
The company debuted in Baldwin Park, California, and primarily has locations throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Stores have recently been added in Texas and Oregon. A customer service representative, reached by phone recently, said there are currently no plans to expand to other places in the U.S. in the immediate future.
But, Region foodies can dream.
Once you try In-N-Out, you'll always crave one when the thought turns to burgers. When out West, try one "Animal-style," which is extra spread slathered on mustard-grilled patties with extra pickles and grilled onions. If you want fries "Animal-style," you'll get melted cheese, spread and grilled onions on top.
One Region chef has attempted to bring the famous burgers to the area with his own In-N-Out clones at Beer Geeks in Highland.
While we applaud the effort, it's still not the real thing.
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