More than 60 artists and artisans will show their work at the Valparaiso Art Festival this weekend.
Valparaiso Events and Amdur Productions are staging the festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will take place at the intersection of Indiana Avenue and Lafayette Street just south of Central Park Plaza.
People can check out paintings, photos, stained glass, jewelry, fiber arts, metalworking and woodworking from more than 60 artists.
“Festival-goers will delight in live artist demos, a graffiti wall and live entertainment throughout the weekend,” Valparaiso Events said in a press release. “The Kids’ Art Tent will feature face painting, spin art, sand art and Art Fest bingo. The Valparaiso Creative Council will be handing out kids’ art bags at their booth, and Birds of Paradise coloring books will be available at the Valparaiso Events booth. Birds of Paradise is a new downtown sculpture scavenger hunt from the City of Valparaiso that’s fun for the whole family and highlights local artists and birds indigenous to Northwest Indiana.”
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People can check out the work of local artists from Valparaiso and Northwest Indiana, including the nature and wildlife photographer Maria Overlay and the glass blowers Bryan Lee and Dave Lee, who own Hot Shop Valpo.
“Jason Gast specializes in oil paintings of animals and monochromatic portraits of actors and musicians,” Valparaiso Events said in a press release. “Debbie Van Gorp, owner of All Tied Up Boutique, creates exquisite necktie scarves. And Jackie ‘Jax’ Kalin, a painter whose custom interior wall designs and paintings span the United States, was recently named the Art Comes Alive ‘Wildlife Artist of the Year.'”
Cirrus Falcon and Michelet will play live music. Food will be available for purchase.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit valparaisoevents.com.
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Parlor Doughuts, Domino’s, Gyros Bar and Grill and Captain’s Seafood opening
Open
Parlor Doughnuts is now baking something sweet in Valparaiso, after celebrating its grand opening Saturday.
But Parlor Doughnuts Valparaiso is not your conventional doughnut shop. The Evansville-based chain specializes in craft doughnuts, specialty coffee and artisan baked goods.
Lifelong Valpo residents Marissa and Wes Barnes opened the franchise at 255 Morthland Drive in Valparaiso. It’s a prominent space on U.S. 30 that was previously home to Jordy N Jax BBQ, Petey’s Gyros and Dicky’s Dogs.
The franchise is Parlor Doughnuts’ third in Indiana and first in the northern part of the state.
It serves layered doughnuts that combine yeast and cake doughnuts. It also has vegan, gluten-free and keto-friendly doughnuts, as well as Doggie Doughnuts for good puppies. The menu also includes acai bowls, avocado toast and breakfast tacos.
“We are thrilled to bring Parlor’s products, brand and mission to Northwest Indiana — a region that celebrates with delicious comfort food and coffee, and appreciates top-notch customer service,” Marissa Barnes said. “One of our key values is to create a place that facilitates conversation and community where friends and families of all ages can gather in a vintage American space that feels like the ‘Parlor,’ a conversation center of 1900s Victorian homes but with a modern twist. My husband, Wes, and I are lifelong residents of Valparaiso and are excited to bring a business to our community that values giving back, including a passion for active military, veterans and first responders.”
Joseph S. Pete
Craft doughtnuts and coffee
Parlor Doughnuts was founded in Evansville in 2019 by Darrick Hayen, his son Noah and restaurateur Josh Tudela. Hayden toured the country with his son’s band, sampling local doughnuts everywhere he went while Noah developed a passion for craft coffee.
They combined their interests to open Parlor Doughnuts, which has been growing fast across the country. It now has more than 24 locations open or in development from coast to coast.
The Valparaiso doughnut shop plans to employ around 20 people and is still hiring for a variety of jobs, including baristas and bakers.
For more information, visit www.parlordoughnuts.com or email [email protected].
Joseph S. Pete
Coming soon
Domino’s, America’s largest pizza chain, is headed to Munster.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based pizzeria, which already has an extensive footprint around the Calumet Region, signed a lease to open in the strip mall on Main Street that’s anchored by Anytime Fitness.
“This will be an excellent location for Dominos and is a win-win for both the tenant and landlord. The center is now 100% occupied with strong, well-known tenants,” said Brett McDermott of Crown Point-based commercial real estate firm Latitude Commercial, which represented the landlord.
Domino’s has recently opened many new locations in Northwest Indiana, including in Highland and Griffith.
Joseph S. Pete
Open
Gyros Bar and Grill opened in Valparaiso.
It’s a family-friendly restaurant with a 21-plus lounge at 391 W. U.S. 6.
The 5,300-square-foot restaurant serves fare like gyros, burgers, hot dogs, chili dogs and ribs in a sit-down casual dining environment. It took over a former Pepe’s that had been vacant for at least 20 years.
Gyros Bar and Grill seats about 150 diners. The menu includes chicken, fish, steak sandwiches and many Chicagoland favorites like Polish sausages and Italian beef sandwiches.
It’s located along a busy stretch of U.S. 6 that 22,000 cars pass by weekly. Given its locations, it’s expected to draw from Valparaiso, Chesterton, South Haven and Portage.
For more information, call 219-254-2351.
Joseph S. Pete
Coming soon
Captain’s Seafood is coming soon to Michigan City.
The seafood market at 5360 Franklin St. will offer shrimp, fish, crab legs and lobster tails.
Joseph S. Pete
New owners
New owners took over the NutriHub Nutrition shop on U.S. 30 in Merrillville.
Jasmine Wade and Sheva Robinson bought the health food store at 536 E 81st Ave. in Merrillville. It specializes in meal replacement protein shakes packed with vitamins.
NutriHub sells a number of products like protein shakes, protein bars, herbal teas, energy teas, thermogenic teas and aloe. The 1,900-square-foot business employs five and has seating, including comfortable couches, for people who want to enjoy their shakes there.
“It’s different things for health in general,” Wade said. “We’re registered nurses and the major health issues we’ve seen is one of the reasons we want to help everybody health-wise. We’ve seen unhealthy eating. We’ve introduced these products to our family. I don’t want my family to be part of a statistic.”
Joseph S. Pete
Focus on nutrition
The pair aims to educate the public about health, such as by posting about nutritious eating on social media.
“We’re out here to help our community,” Robinson said. “These products help people lose weight. They help with obesity. They’re low in sugar, so diabetics are able to take them. They can be used to built muscle for those struggling with gaining weight or maintaining weight. It’s got minerals, vitamins and protein. It helps with digestion, skin and hair.”
NutriHub aims to offer healthy fare that also tastes good. Shake flavors include many varieties of chocolate, fruit and candy such as Almond Joy, Peppermint Patty and Rootbeer Barrel.
“If you have a sweet tooth, we have cake and cookie flavors to satisfy that craving,” Wade said. “We have a shake of the month that’s lemon pound cake this month. It’s healthy but sweet and it targets that craving.”
Joseph S. Pete
‘Trying to make a difference’
People can try samples of the products on a trial basis. NutriHub also offers body scans to help clients meet their weight loss and wellness goals.
Wade and Robinson have been passing products at neighboring businesses like Athletico and Planet Fitness as outreach. They hope to eventually expand and open more franchises, including potentially in other states.
“We’d like to be able to get word out mouth going out,” Wade said. “We’re driven African-American women trying to make a difference in our community.”
NutriHub is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 219-472-8488 or find the business on Facebook.
Joseph S. Pete
Open
Brass Valley Vapor Company opened a few months ago on U.S. 30 in Valparaiso.
The vape shop is located at 1354 W Morthland Drive in Valpo Valparaiso. It offers a wide selection of vaping supplies, including “disposables, mods, salts, e-liquids, batteries and chargers, pods, coils, and delta products.”
Brass Valley Vapor Company is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and 12-6 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, call 219-242-8335.
Joseph S. Pete
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Nothing Bundt Cakes, Basecamp Fitness, Northwest Health doctor’s office opening; Fresh to Order closed