Dairy Belle's original location in Hammond is shown. The popular chain is coming to Crown Point.
Hair stylist Doris Bauer opened Discreetly Hair and Wigs in Highland.
Hair stylist Doris Bauer opened Discreetly Hair and Wigs in Highland.
Joseph S. Pete
Dairy Belle, a 70-year-old Region institution that got its start in Hammond in 1950, will open its fourth location, in Crown Point, this winter.
The beloved old-school ice cream parlor has been expanding its reach across the Region, opening new spots in Schererville in 2015 and Cedar Lake in 2018. It will open a new shop soon on Main Street by Domino's Pizza and Jimmy John's in Crown Point.
Unlike the other three seasonal locations, the Crown Point location will be open year-round, said Natalie Colao, the Schererville store manager and social media manager.
"It was a Hammond institution and then Hammond people moved further out into Northwest Indiana, to places like Valpo and Crown Point," she said. "The customer base that once came in Hammond was nostalgic since they grew up with it. Now they bring their kids and grandkids."
A Northwest Indiana favorite, Dairy Belle's popularity owes largely to its unique signature product, Colao said.
"Our ice cream is almost like a custard. It's thick and creamy unlike what you can find anywhere else," she said. "It has a high butter fat content and is the best quality."
Top sellers include flurries, concrete mixers, hot fudge brownie delights and banana splits. In addition to sundaes, smoothies, glaciers, malts, yogurt, ice cream sandwiches and pop, Dairy Belle also carries a light lunch menu with hog dogs and Polish sausages.
"We've just added flavors of the month, which is a new thing for us," she said. "We have a new different soft serve flavor every month."
The business boomed this summer despite the pandemic, with lines of cars in the drive-thru sometimes wrapping around the building.
"It was pretty slow the first week when everything closed. We got scared," she said. "But all of a sudden we got lines down the street. A lot of people wanted to get out of the house, be normal and get some ice cream."
The new Crown Point location won't have a drive-thru but it will have a spacious interior of about 1,400 square feet with a lot of seating, Colao said. It should employ about 14 people.
"We've been building up the space inside the strip mall," she said. "It has a cool interior. It's a modern but old-fashioned look. It will be a really nice environment that should be enjoyable for everyone."
The new Dairy Belle will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/realdairybelle or www.realdairybelle.us.
Steak 'n Shake is again grilling up steakburgers in Valparaiso, reopening about a month ago after closing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The vintage 1950s-themed burger restaurant at 1251 Strongbow Center Drive is now open for drive-thru and delivery only. An employee said there were no immediate plans to reopen the dining room even after the state allowed restaurants to again operate at full capacity.
People also can get steakburgers, shakes, Frisco Melts, five-way chili and other Steak 'n Shake favorites delivered from the restaurant via DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates and UberEats.
Indianapolis-based Steak 'n Shake, which has undergone financial struggles of late, also temporarily closed its Portage and Michigan City restaurants last year in search of new franchisees to run them, but they have not yet reopened.
The Valparaiso Steak 'n Shake is now open from 10 a.m. to midnight daily.
For more information, call 219-465-4014 or find the business on Facebook.
Feline Community Network, a rescue and rehabilitation center for cats in Northwest Indiana, opened a new retail shop.
The nonprofit launched the feline-themed store with ever-changing inventory at its rehabilitation center at 1601 W 37th Ave. in Hobart. Cat lovers can buy purses, hand bags, backpacks, blankets, and face masks emblazoned with images of cats, as well as cat scratching posts. Shoppers also can check out the cats available for adoption.
The business is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information visit www.felinecommunitynetwork.com, call 219-940-3340 or find the business on Facebook.
Discreetly Hair and Wigs has opened at 2300 Ramblewood Drive in Highland, by the Office Depot and Meijer gas station on Indianapolis Boulevard on the south side of town, by the Schererville border.
Doris Bauer, who also cuts hair at the Leah Christine Hair Salon in Tinley Park, cuts hair and also provides wigs for cancer patients, burn victims and others who have suffered hair loss. She's proud to open the business in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October to serve victims who have under chemotherapy.
"I work with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and hair loss, including wigs for children and men's hair pieces," she said. "Some losses can be permanent so we get a little bit more involved with custom design. When women lose their hair, it's a big deal. It's their crowning glory. We want to bring their dignity back and give them a brand new image of themselves."
Bauer is a licensed barber who started cutting girlfriends' hair during lunch hour in the eighth grade and has been cutting hair for 46 years now. She used to work at the Gentleman's Shop in Lansing cutting men's hair and Bunny's Beauty Salon in Munster, but when women started to come to her for help getting wigs she reached out to oncologists across the area.
"Doctors started referring me patients doing chemotherapy, and that's how I built my business," she said. "I've always had a natural interest in it. I've always been playing with hair. It doesn't feel like a job. It comes very naturally."
She's glad to have carved a niche helping cancer patients who really need it.
"For women, their hair is part of their dignity and losing their crowning glory is hard to accept," she said. "I help them have fun, finding a short wig or a long wig. There's a wig for everybody. I tell them to take it in stride and that the diagnosis is a terrible thing but it's a privilege knowing they need to appreciate the time they spend with family and friends and that it is more important than ever. It's a precious gift knowing that."
In addition to wigs and hair cuts, she also does styling, coloring, perms and bonding. She has three booths and is looking for more stylists, including one to do extensions to complement what she does.
"I have thousands of wings in my inventory to help women through their cancer journey," she said. "I enjoy making the women happier and seeing brighter eyes that light up and sparkle."
Discreetly Hair and Wigs accepts credit cards, checks and insurance that often covers cranial prostheses for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Her business is open for appointment seven days a week, though she's typically in Tinley Park on Monday and Wednesday.
For more information, visit discreetlyhair.com or call 219-922-8867.
If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
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If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
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September 27, 2020 at 11:00PM
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NWI Business Ins and Outs: Dairy Belle opening in Crown Point, Steak 'n Shake reopened in Valpo, cat-themed shop comes to Hobart, wig salon serves cancer survivors in Highland - nwitimes.com
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