Over the last year, business has been booming -- and changing
Sep. 25—As the pandemic restrictions lessened over the last year, growth in Cass County and Logansport has increased.
Although new businesses continued to start through the pandemic, not all survived. And more came as people were able to do more.
The Polka Dot Cupcake, 919 N. Sixth St., was cautious about its opening.
The owners could afford to go slowly because they had already built up a clientele and business model before they bought the former Blue Door bakery building in early 2020.
For seven years, it was a home business for mother Suzan Woodke and daughter Chloe Scott. And after they acquired the building, they still took wholesale orders and did Easter orders through Facebook.
The women planned to open up fully in May 2020. Instead, they delayed until the end of October, having a soft opening and filling holiday orders.
They officially opened their doors at the start of January, and regular customers and people from out of town began coming immediately.
But the grand opening of a Planet Fitness on March 30 in what was once the Sears store at Logansport Mall seemed to be the restart of the growth.
Before that, only Dunham's Sports remained in the mall.
The public's response to the new workout center was great, said Alex Baker, the CCO for the Planet Fitness Baker Group franchise of Planet Fitness sites.
The mall has gone through a lot of changes this year, as Chicago developer Joe DiCosola began the demolition on Jan. 18, changing it into The Junction at Logansport.
The plans are to remove the southern part of the mall, turning it from a walking mall into a strip shopping center with an overall theme.
DiCosola bought the mall on Feb. 18, 2020, but the pandemic slowed plans and retailers were cautious about opening new stores.
He said one business seems committed to being in the renovated shopping area, and others have expressed interest.
But for now, his Park Development company, based out of Chicago, and his 3900 East Market Street LLC, which is the mall business itself, are concentrating on removing the south part, which began the first week of August.
The old becomes new again
The downtown has seen the start of what looks like a rebirth as businesses moved in or expanded.
April 3 was the official reopening of The Record Farm, which moved from its longtime home at 317 E. Market St., next to the State Theatre, to the new building, 430 E. Broadway.
Husband and wife Matt and Katya Swisher bought the building around the end of 2020.
Matt opened the record, music and alternative culture store with Adam Wilson in March 2016, and Katya owns Vibrant Events Catering.
Because of the amount of room on the first floor, the couple opened Bonus Pints on July 10, a combination bar, restaurant and retro arcade.
They're now looking at renovating the second floor for three retail businesses.
Split Road Media moved into The Record Farm's former storefront in May. It's the first public office that owner Bryce Hardesty has had for the multi-media marketing and branding agency, although they've been doing work for local businesses for a while.
On April 10, Blanca Mendez opened Lynne's Creationz/La Creaciones de Lynne at 109 Fifth St., similar to a business she owned in her native Mexico.
It's a combination clothing store toward the back and party decorations and flowers in the front.
It's named after her teen daughter, Lynette Cruz-Mendez, and the store also features her daughter's chocolate-covered strawberries.
On May 10, Jody Achey opened Sage and Tonic at 220 S. Sixth St., starting her first business after managing others.
The store specializes handmade, small batch items — what Achey said is kind of "new age" but also has a bit of irreverence as well as positive energy.
Also on May 10, Fuel Good Nutrition at 212 N. Sixth St. in Logansport became 365 Nutrition. Stefani and Dave Scharland bought the meal replacement shake/smoothie shop.
The store offers the same meal replacement shakes and supplemental drinks, but they offer more tea types than Fuel Good owner Abby McGlashen, including ones without caffeine.
An old favorite that had been closed for about two years reopened on June.
Perry Rennewanz bought the Old Style Inn, 219 S. Sixth St., on May 28 and hired one of the former chefs to run the kitchen.
He plans to add a bakery and more desserts, and he's brought more live music to the downtown.
A Logansport native who returned and became a businessman, Rennewanz sees the downtown as the heart of the city and plans to have other ventures there.
"I've always loved Logansport," he said.
June 1 was also when Heart to Heart Hospice officially became operational at 1 Cass Center, suites 214-217.
The hospice had moved into that office — on the second floor of the PNC Bank Building at East Broadway and Third Street — in August 2020. It is its 15th Indiana location.
But the pandemic did not give Heart to Heart the chance to have contact with patients, delaying the opening.
Near the Cass County Government Building, attorney Brooks B. C. Ledger opened Ledger Law P.C. at 216 Fourth St. on July 19.
Ledger had been an associate attorney at Starr, Austen and Miller, LLP, in Logansport since December 2016 and will focus primarily on criminal defense, family law litigation and personal injury cases.
Outside the center
Just east of downtown, Dollar General opened a DG Plus format store, the fifth Dollar General in Logansport, in the old Family Video building, 318 12th St.
The DG Plus is different from the others with more floor space, more freezer and cooler space and fresh produce.
The only other places that sell groceries near downtown are Farmers Fresh Market, at 419 S. Fifth St.; Carniceria La Fiesta, at 524 North St.; and Tienda La Bendicion, at 1304 E. Broadway.
Mr. Chips and Salsa opened at the Quality Inn restaurant space at 3550 E. Market St. in early spring, replacing the Market Street Grill.
In mid-July, Blue Star Taxi service returned with co-owners Richard Eubank — who owned it from 2011 to 2017 — and Shawn Duckett, who owned it from 2017 and until Memorial Day 2018.
The two saw a need for a taxi and transport service after Bubba's Transport closed June 18, and they're expanding services as the business gets established.
"Honestly, the town needs a cab service," said Duckett.
They're headquartered at 1228 E. Broadway but serve the entire city.
Because of the need for small storage before COVID-19, City Councilman Scott Peattie turned an empty building on his lot at northeast corner of Miles and 17th streets into a warehouse.
The 4,300-square-foot building between the Eel River and his home had been Kay's Total Body Workout, Bill's Lawnmower service, a furniture stripping workshop and a few other businesses over the years.
He'd been told a year and a half earlier by Bill Cuppy, executive director of the Logansport/Cass County Chamber of Commerce, that companies had been asking about warehouse space in the city a few times each month.
Go west, young entrepreneur
On the west end of the city, there's the new ice cream place Olly and Wally's at 15 E. Linden Ave.
Debbie Toth and husband Ron Toth opened it in the former early 20th-century gas station on the corner of Linden and Third Street as a neighborhood ice cream stand.
Tim Walsh opened Porky's Cycles and 601 W. Market on May 17 because of the lack of a local motorcycle repair shop.
"Peru and Kokomo are pretty much the closest," Walsh said.
He plans to grow motorcycle sales, too.
Walsh already owned Dun-Rite Auto Repair at 316 W. Market St. for seven years.
On July 19, pet groomers Helen Simmons and Cassie Hines opened up Woof and Whiskers Pet Salon at 1125 W. Market St.
After Petsense on the east side closed in January, the two (who had worked there) saw the need for their services in Logansport.
Something old, something new
Besides the new businesses coming in, there have also been new business owners for established businesses since last year.
In November of 2020, Proquila Kamei became the new owner — with help from her husband, Daisok Panmei — of the Daisy Hau Asian Market at 416 High St. and renamed it Rongmei Asian Market.
They come from the Rongmei tribe in Northeast India.
The store will continue to carry food for a diverse clientele — such as Filipino, Thailand, Laotian, Vietnamese, Burmese and Indian — but also for South American customers, like Guatemalan immigrants.
The start of 2021 was the start of a new life in Logansport for Esi and Travis Parker, as they took over Goris Dental Clinic, 1821 Chase Road.
The two moved to Indiana just before Christmas and started as the new owners in January.
They wanted a private family practice in a small town, and Jack Goris — who took over the business from his father — was retiring and looking for the right people to take over.
"We met Jack Goris, and he had the same practice philosophy that we did," Travis said.
The situation was similar for Tyler Graham and Erica Beltre, who are taking over Phipps Chiropractic Center, 16700 W. Market St., as Dr. Larry Phipps retires.
The couple wanted to be in a small town and closer to his hometown of Granger, northeast of Logansport, when they discovered Phipps selling his business.
"Right away it clicked — this is the guy I want to work for," Graham said. "He's thorough and caring."
On Jan. 13, the DiMichele family bought the two local McDonald's franchises from Mike and Patricia Hammons, who'd owned them since 2000.
They also bought the Delphi, Monticello and West Lafayette franchises from the family and ones from other owners in Bluffton, Fort Wayne, Hartford City, Portland and Marion for a total of 12 new franchises for the family.
On Jan. 19, Ryan Kitchel bought Moore and Crimmins Manage the Climate heating and cooling, 400 Michigan Ave., from his uncle and aunt, Larry and Conna Kitchel.
He had always wanted his own business, and he liked the idea of returning home to Logansport.
"I worked out of town and out of state a lot over the last five years," Kitchel said. "One thing I wanted to do was get back in town."
Growth is countywide
Not all of the growth was contained to Logansport, however.
In Royal Center, the Bob-O-Link Drive-In was sold mid-August to Chandra Hines Felker, Steve Felker and Tom and Rachel Henry.
The restaurant was the first one that Bob Shanks, who opened Mr. Happy Burger in 1961, owned.
Shanks started there in 1956 and closed it a year before the Mr. Happy Burger restaurants in Logansport went for sale as part of his retirement.
The new owners had a soft opening Sept. 13, and a grand opening is planned for early October.
South of the city, Jason Kite opened The Red Barn Firearms on Dec. 21 in the Anoka area.
Originally, he and his wife, Heather Kite, ran the antique store The Red Barn out of the building at 2936 U.S. 35.
However, COVID-19 changed too much of that business.
He had been selling firearms at shows and decided to use the building for it.
Something old, something different
Existing businesses also went through some changes.
After being hit by a fire at its longtime 96 E. Market location on Nov. 14, U-Know Pizza reopened bigger and better on Feb. 17 at 516 E. Broadway.
More space meant a larger menu, more ice cream, a separate room for gatherings and an adult backroom serving wine and beer.
Chris Hallam, who co-owns Prime Contracting with Bret Bowman, moved the drain cleaning part of their business into the old place and has been renovating it down to its old gas station roots over the year.
On Jan. 9, the Padilla and Moreno families that owned Amy's Boutique at 600 E. Broadway turned it into an authentic, Mexico City-style taqueria named Taqueria El Puesto.
Amy Moreno said she, her parents and husband will still have the wedding and party necessities that Amy's Boutique did, but no clothes.
In February, Melissa Harrison moved her Thumper's Attic from 524 E. Broadway, where it had been since September 2019, to the former The Village Peddler at 1828 E. Broadway
In late spring, T-Mobile moved into the 4,900-square-foot duplex strip mall at the northwest corner of Market Street and Yorktown Road. There's still no tenant for the adjoining space, which is set up to allow for drive-thru service.
A few goodbyes
Besides Goris and Phipps retiring, others who'd been part of the Cass County business community for a while have gone on to the next phase of their lives.
On Nov. 28, Cindy and Eric Meister retired, closing both his chiropractic practice and her shop, The Village Peddler, both located at 1828 E. Broadway.
In January, 81-year-old Junior Swartzell in Royal Center retired after 60 years as a barber.
At the end of March, Logansport's first cardiologist, Dr. J. Stanley Hillis, retired after 46 years of being a doctor and 36 years starting the first cardiology clinic.
Longtime businesses also left.
The Logansport Family Video, 318 12th St., closed on Dec. 20 after being in business since 1998 and being one of the few surviving video stores.
The Kreuzberger Jewelry Store at 526 E. Broadway closed in March after being open since 1949 under multiple owners.
In early May, Cass County had the Country View Inn and Pizza King at 1411 U.S. 35 demolished. They had been closed since a fire in the summer of 2018.
Not every old business saw an end, though.
Amelio's On the River, 431 S. Fifth St. in Logansport, has been celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
Reach James D. Wolf Jr. at james.wolf@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5117
Twitter @JamesDWolfJr
