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Welcome to Fast 25, IBJ’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing companies in the Indianapolis area. Plus this year’s winner of the annual Mickey Maurer Entrepreneur Award.
Mickey Maurer Entrepreneur Award
Craig Huse
Built for success
St. Elmo Steak House owner says key is ensuring ‘growth never outpaces the standards’
When he was coming up in the restaurant business, Craig Huse thought of himself as a restaurateur.
He’d prepared himself for that career by working in his father’s restaurants, starting as a dishwasher at Poor Richard’s in Bloomington in the mid-1980s; going to hospitality-management school at Penn State; and spending a couple of years in Washington, D.C., with the upscale Hillstone Restaurant Group before returning to Indiana in 1997 to work at — and eventually take over — St. Elmo Steak House.
But over the past 20 years, after opening eight restaurants that employ 900 people; creating new brands of bottled sauces, sea-sonings and cocktails that are sold in 40 states; and helping found Devour Indy, the twice-annual event that showcases Indianapolis cuisine, the CEO of Huse Culinary also thinks of himself as an entrepreneur.
Percentages below are revenue growth for FY 2023 to 2025.
The selection process
Indianapolis Business Journal compiled its annual list of fastest-growing private companies through the following procedures:
Submissions were solicited through announcements in IBJ and by email. Companies are ranked based on their revenue growth over a two-year period.
Companies were eligible if:
◗ Fiscal year 2023 revenue must have been more than $1 million and represent a 12-month year.
◗ Companies must have been founded prior to FY 2023.
◗ Companies must have been privately held, for-profit corporations, proprietorships or partnerships through Dec. 31, 2025 (not a subsidiary or division of a parent company).
◗ Companies must be headquartered on Dec. 31, 2025, in central Indiana. Companies with partial or full ownership outside Indiana are eligible.
◗ Accuracy of entries was verified by letters from the companies’ outside accountants or through the companies’ submitting their tax returns.
To be notified when IBJ begins soliciting submissions for next year’s list of fastest-growing private companies, contact Terry Carnes at [email protected].
See how it looks in print
CHECK OUT PREVIOUS HONOREES
Click here to see who won top honors in the past