Fundex’s Oct. 10 acquisition of the Great American Puzzle Factory keeps the Indianapolis-based game and toy company firmly
planted in the tried and true, even as it experiments with the burgeoning mobile-game market.
PROFILE MICKI STIRSMAN Education at heart of growth Continued training is part of her biz plan Your face might be Micki Stirsman’s canvas. Instead of applying paint to paper or molding clay into sculpture Stirsman and her staff use their artistry to transform their clients’ appearances. The Speedway native is owner of Salon 01, a business she started with a $10,000 contribution from her grandmother that has grown into a million d o l l a r- p l u…
Take a look at some of the most complicated, heated and thankless Statehouse negotiations and chances are you’ll find Republican Sen. Luke Kenley smack in the middle of the fray. While some Hoosiers are hard-pressed to attend a school board meeting or even try to understand their property-tax bills, the 62-year-old chairman of the Senate Tax & Fiscal Policy Committee sits through hours of public hearings and even more hours of closed-door negotiations. This General Assembly promises to be one…
The long-vacant Eastgate Consumer Mall finally is getting a new tenant: a data-storage and web-hosting company. City officials are planning an 11 a.m. announcement today detailing an expansion for locally based…
Midland Arts & Antiques Market plans to open a 12,000-square-foot location in Carmel off of 126th Street between Meridian Street and Keystone Avenue. Midland’s flagship store occupies an historic former door factory and…
Kansas-based restaurant chain Houlihan’s has inked deals for new diners at Castleton Square Mall and Hamilton Town Center and hopes to open two other restaurants in Plainfield and Greenwood. The chain also has…
The state has reached a deal to buy more than 150 miles of abandoned rail lines for new trails, a deal that would nearly double Indiana’s 170 miles of rail-trails. The governor…
Looking for flowers downtown? There’s a new arrangement, thanks to a shakeup among locally based florists. Enflora Flowers for Business, part of McNamara, plans to open in Chase Tower in early February. And…
The massive new AllPoints Midwest industrial park in Plainfield has landed its first tenant in a mega deal that likely will
be the area’s biggest industrial lease in 2007. Local logistics firm Prime Distribution Services Inc. has signed a lease for
1.2 million square feet in the 920-acre park, a joint venture between Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. and Browning Investments
Inc.
Here’s a silver lining to The Steak n Shake Co.’s deepening woes: They might scare off potential buyers, keeping the locally based diner chain independent for the foreseeable future. “While Steak n Shake continues to look at alternatives to increase shareholder value, we believe the business will need to be stabilized to attract any meaningful interest,” CL King & Associates analyst Michael Gallo wrote in a new report. Indeed, getting the 491-restaurant chain back on track could take a long…
Local-toy-store veteran Natalie Canull is now operating a bustling store on Massachusetts Avenue that’s narrowly focused on
upscale toys–a niche that keeps her out of the path of mass-market heavyweights like Toys “R” Us and Wal-Mart.
State regulators want more firepower to fight mortgage crimes. But a month before the General Assembly convenes, real estate
interests are uneasy, fearing lawmakers may go overboard.
A final discussion question to consider today: What retailers, restaurants or development methods are missing from Indy? Plenty of new names are entering the market, and “green” building seems to be gaining…
Several downtown projects, including Lucas Oil Stadium and the JW Marriott, will add new dimensions to a skyline that hasn’t changed much in the last dozen years. What is your favorite building…
The host of Property Lines, Cory Schouten, is on vacation this week. Meanwhile, the blog will feature discussion questions about Indianapolis real estate. Today’s topic is the area surrounding Lucas Oil…
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Maybe it is because no one wants me to help cook, or perhaps it’s due to the stream of college football. Mostly I think I like it because it is such an unhurried, fun, shared day. This year, many of us gathered for Thanksgiving at family homes and we gave thanks for the many gifts life brings us in this nation. What many of us didn’t conscientiously dwell on is how important the simple act…
The Indianapolis-based parent of the Ritter’s Frozen Custard brand has been stuck in a cold streak lately, facing scores of
new ice-cream competitors and a dwindling lineup of franchisees. But RFC Franchising LLC is planning big changes designed
to firm up the home-grown chain, which now has 48 stores in nine states, down from more than 60 locations in 2005.
Local homeowners tired of all the bad news about the housing market likely will be encouraged by data in a recent Fortune Magazine article. The magazine studied the correlation…
The oldest portion of the downtown canal walk could soon get a $3.2-million upgrade. The city is finalizing plans for new pavement, stairs, retaining walls, lighting and railings along…
You gotta love Steve Hilbert. He conceived of an idea and had the strength and focus to achieve an extraordinary result that he sustained over a number of years. … He will undoubtedly return to the grand game of entrepreneurship. If given the opportunity, I would be inclined to invest in his next venture. -July 10, 2000 I penned the above prediction in this column on the anointment of Gary Wendt as CEO and savior of Conseco Inc. After Stephen…
