Munster High School English and Theater teacher Peggy Matanic was inducted into the Indiana Thespian Hall of Fame.
Shakespeare wrote that fame lives long, and it will endure forever for one local theater educator.
Munster High School English and Theatre teacher Peggy Matanic was inducted into the Indiana Thespians Hall of Fame.
The state chapter of the Educational Theatre Association, an affiliate of the International Thespian Society honor society for educational theater, maintains a Hall of Fame for theater teachers in Indiana with at least 20 years of experience.
Ray Palasz, auditorium director for the Munster Theatre Company and co-chapter director of the Indiana Thespians, said the group honored Matanic both for her work with the Munster Theatre Company and developing the Wilbur Wright Theatre Company.
“Essentially, in the School Town of Munster, we have a seven-year theater program,” said Palasz. “Students can start in 6th grade, and by the time they graduate from Munster High School, they will be well-prepared to study theater after high school. Peggy’s students have tackled tough issues like the Holocaust and natural disasters through her contest plays, and she introduces to them various dialects through both the shows she produces and the individual Thespy events she coaches them in.”
Matanic has taught at Munster High School since 2007. She teaches composition, English, technical theater, and theater arts. She works with both the high school and middle school theater groups and sponsors the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at the high school.
Wu's House opened in Merrillville
A culinary voyage across the Pacific Ocean took place amid the suburban sprawl in the commercial heart of Merrillville.
An Australian steakhouse is now a Japanese steakhouse that also serves freshly sliced fish, hibachi, Thai and Chinese takeout favorites.
Wu's House has taken over the former Outback Steakhouse at 8117 Georgia St. in Merrillville, where it currently offers dine-in and curbside pickup.
The hibachi and sushi restaurant with a wide-reaching Asian menu also has locations in Orland Park, Evergreen Park and Mokena.
The menu includes Japanese, Chinese, Thai, hibachi, tempura, teriyaki, sashimi and sushi. One can grab pad thai, fried rice, curry, Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Chicken, Scallop Teriyaki and Filet Mignon Teriyaki, as well as classics like miso soup, ginger salad, edamame and egg rolls.
Customers can order a variety of specialty sushi rolls, such as the Spiderman Roll, Snow White Roll, Black Thunder Roll, Dynamite Roll and Naruto Roll. The Honey Roll, for instance, combines tuna, spicy yellowtail, jalapeno, avocado, mango sauce and honey plum sauce, while the Sweet Hearts Roll features tuna, lobster salad, mango, avocado, pink soy paper, and chili sauce.
For more information, visit wushouse.com or call 219-525-4847.
Midwest Eats opened in East Chicago
Midwest Eats is serving up brunch, dinner and catering in East Chicago's North Harbor neighborhood.
Jerek Blevins, also known as Chef J.B., opened the carryout eatery at 3931 Main St. The menu includes shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, giant turkey legs, jerk shrimp alfredo and creole shrimp smack and cheese.
"We're open open on weekends, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," he said. "We're a little-fast casual restaurant where the menu changes from time to time. We would like to open dining-in and during the week when the weather breaks, in the spring."
Midwest Eats offers a Soul Food Sunday with Mississippi Pot Roast wings, Cajun fried wings, Puerto Rican rice, sweet potato mash and southern favorites.
"I've been cooking my whole life and an opportunity fell into my lap," Blevins said. "I do private dinners and catering and will still offer that. But it make a sense to have a restaurant in addition to being a private chef. My dad and grandfather owned restaurants as well."
For now, the restaurant is carryout only. But when dining-in opens, people and businesses will be able to rent out the dining room, which can seat 50 to 60 people.
"It's an intimate private event space," he said.
The restaurant employs eight people and plans to hire more when it opens for dining-in. Blevins is proud Midwest Eats is a black-owned business.
"A call to action is at the forefront," he said. "I saw pizzeria shirts that said social injustice has no place here. So we have the 'respect existence or expect resistance' on the front of our shirts and our restaurant logo on the back."
Midwest Easts fills a void in the neighborhood, Blevins said.
"There's a lot of fast food in the neighborhood, a lot of fried foods," he said. "There's a Zel's but there's not a lot of things you eat with a fork. We have comfort food like salmon over rice or lobster over rice. We have gourmet French fries like carne asada fries and Caesar salad where we make the Caesar dressing in house. We cook everything we love."
The restaurant is currently open 12-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 1 p.m. until sold out on Sunday.
For more information visit www.midwesteatsbyjb.com.
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeda just opened Lil’ Ba-Ba-Reeba! in Chicago's River North neighborhood
Cafe-Ba-Ba-Reeba!, the groundbreaking Spanish tapas bar in Lincoln Park you may have gone to on a date or gotten a gift certificate to at some point, just opened the sister restaurant Lil’ Ba-Ba-Reeba! at 441 N. Clark St. in Chicago's River North neighborhood.
Executive Chef Eric Jorgensen offers up Cafe-Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s greatest hits like signature pintxos, tapas and sangrias for dine-in, delivery and carryout. The abbreviated menu includes includes dishes like Spicy Potatoes, Bacon-Wrapped Dates and Baked Goat Cheese, and new fare like Rioja-Braised Short Rib with manchego mashed potatoes.
“Right on the heels of our anniversary at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!, we’re taking everything we love from the last 35 years and bringing them downtown,” said Mark Sotelino, partner at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! and Lil’ Ba-Ba-Reeba! “The Ba-Ba-Reeba! brand has been a beloved part of Chicago's culinary history and during this time, we are excited to be able to bring some of our signature tapas and sangria to our guests in River North."
Lil’ Ba-Ba-Reeba! aims to emulate tapas bars in Spain and features Spanish artwork, bottled vintners, pendant lamps and hanging charcuterie boards surrounding a bustling open kitchen. It serves Spanish sangrias, Spanish wins, Spanish cocktails and Spanish bottled beers.
The restaurant is open 4-10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call 312-985-6909 or visit www.cafebabareeba.com/lil-ba-ba-reeba.
A chiropractor is relocating to NorthShore's new location in Hammond.
Dr. Joseph Hofferth has joined the medical staff of NorthShore Health Centers.
He's been a Munster chiropractor for more than 25 years and is moving his practice to NorthShore's new location at 1828 165th St. in Hammond.
He will start seeing patients at the new location in early March.
For more information or to make an appointment, call 219-836-9919 or 219-763-8112 for more information.
Trouble Shoot Wireless signed a lease in a Griffith strip mall
Trouble Shoot Wireless will open soon at Broad Ridge Plaza on Ridge Road in Griffith, according to Merrillville-based Commercial In-Sites, which brokered the lease.
The store offers cell phone repair services and sells cell phone accessories and related merchandise, as well as unrelated merchandise like Chicago Bears winter caps.
For more information, visit troubleshootwireless.business.site or call 219-513-6149.
Chicago's Can't Believe It's Not Meat expanded to Orland Park.
Can't Believe It's Not Meat has come to Orland Park.
The vegetarian and vegan restaurant from Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood expanded to 24 Orland Square Drive.
The menu includes salads and vegan versions of hot dogs, bratwurst, shrimp, nachos, cheese steaks and other entrees.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
For more information, call 708-645-4077 or visit cantbelieveitsnotmeat.com.
Prime Smoked Meats in Valpo now has a rotating selection of craft beers after securing a liquor license
Prime Smoked Meats is now offering craft beers and the hipster favorite PBR at 55 University Drive Suite 100 in Valparaiso, where it uses locally sourced Indiana oak wood to cook succulent meats low and slow.
The Texas-style smokehouse that opened by the Valparaiso University campus in 2018 prepares meat with just wood fire and smoke. Pitmaster Jason Pelzel crafted a modern barbecue menu that includes smoked pork and brisket sushi and monthly sandwich specials like the FC Valentine Hog that adorns a pile of pulled pork with baby arugula, picked jalapeño peppers, and garlic butter toasted brioche bun.
The sandwiches get slapped with cool names like "Hungry Like a Wolf" in reference to the Duran Duran hit. It has a lively social media presence that promotes menu items like "pork belly burnt end energy bites," encouraging people to "wash ‘em down with (insert thick Chicago accent) two-tree $1.50 cans of PBR. Belly up before the snow, heck, you might even have enough energy to shovel the whole neighborhood."
For more information, find the business on Facebook, visit primesmokedmeats.com or call 219-242-8761.
K & S Sewing is on the move in Lowell
K & S Sewing is is moving its shop to 410 Commercial Ave. in Lowell in order to expand, according to Merrillville-based Commercial In-Sites, which brokered the lease.
The store offers memory quilts, alterations, and quilting and sewing lessons.
For more information, call 219-690-1695 or visit kssewing.com.
A New Jersey-based REIT bought the new Super Products building in Merrillville
Four Springs Capital Trust, a New Jersey-based REIT, bought the new Super Products building in Merrillville for an undisclosed sum.
Super Products moves from 8774 Louisiana St. in Merrillville to a larger 26,500-square-foot building in Merrillville in December.
“Super Products is a great tenant with extremely strong credit," said Myles Rapchak of Latitude Commercial, who represented the seller. “They had been a tenant in the owners previous building for 3+ years before coming to him to propose a BTS with over double the square footage. It was great to work with Pete throughout not only this project, but all of his over the years”.
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.
