INSIDE DISH: Mug-n-Bun rides on 50-year formula
IBJ's new video feature on restaurateurs tries curbside
service at Speedway's Mug-n-Bun, unchanged in concept since the 1960s but now sporting subtle tweaks.
Small Business
Articles
Scott Jones brings Lemonade Day to Indianapolis kids
Launched in Houston three years ago, Lemonade Day aims to educate children from pre-kindergarten through high school how to
start, own and operate their own small businesses.
New tax credits may boost jobs at some small companies
Tasked with boosting Indiana’s economy following the Great Recession, the 2010 General Assembly tinkered at the edges
by passing a handful of incentives meant to spur small-business growth.
Rising prices could help pork producers bounce back
The prices hogs are fetching this year will help farmers begin to climb out of the crater of 2008 and 2009. Average pork prices
may approach record levels this year, Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt predicted, up to $53.63 per hundred
pounds. The record is $55.44 per hundred pounds, set in 1982.
Local Scholars Inn sold, to reopen under new name
The Mass Ave. restaurant is set to become Mesh, which will feature a more casual atmosphere and menu, as well as a new operator who will
lease the space
from the building’s owners.
INSIDE DISH: Harried chef at R bistro tries to keep it fresh
In IBJ's new video feature on front-burner business issues that vex restaurants, Regina Mehallick
of downtown's R bistro mulls the financial and personal demands of running a chef-owned eatery with a menu that changes
every week.
Noblesville company has high hopes for pomegranate
Verdure Sciences, a botanical-extract distributor, has invested more than $1 million in marketing and research,
and hopes to see its product in more
foods and drinks, perhaps even mouthwash.
Athletic entrepreneur helps clients build camaraderie, improve leadership
Deseri Garcia’s Vida Aventura consulting firm uses challenge courses, other unusual techniques to improve teamwork, morale.
Red Key’s rules will live on after owner’s death
Russel Settle, 92, was renowned for telling customers at the landmark Red Key Tavern to mind their manners in the northside
pub featured in a Dan Wakefield novel.
Indianapolis set for next wave of angel investors
A wave of up-and-coming angel investors in the Indianapolis area are quietly accumulating the expertise and thick wallets
necessary to back startups that are at once risky and rich with potential for lucrative returns.
Small-biz lending on the rise
Federal loan programs that help fund company expansions are seeing more activity from program administrators in Indianapolis.
Vogue owner’s bankruptcy may force sale of venue
A mix of business and personal woes have pushed Steven Carter Ross, the longtime owner and manager of the Vogue nightclub,
into personal bankruptcy. Now a judge must decide whether Ross can keep the popular Broad Ripple music venue, or if he must
sell it to satisfy his creditors and his estranged wife.
Entrepreneurs lose clout as VC funds get stingier
Most local venture funds are standing pat because the economy is weak and they’re no longer
in fund-raising mode. Having invested most of their funds, the firms have shifted to the nurturing, or “harvesting”
stage, to try to improve investment returns.
Bakehouse drives growth for Scholars Inn
Scholars Inn’s growth engine is its wholesale bakery, which distributes granola and other
fresh products across state lines thanks
to deals with
partners like Kroger.
Lawmakers probe banks’ lending to small businesses
U.S. House legislators want to get to the bottom of banks' roles in the economic recovery, both via loans to small businesses
and shouldering losses on commercial real estate lending.
Tech-savvy Scotty’s owner eyes national expansion
Scott Wise has five Scotty's Brewhouse locations and
is set to debut the Scotty's Lakehouse concept Monday. Within 10 years, he'd like to have
restaurants in the Southeast and on the West Coast.
Obama’s stimulus aims to boost access to small-biz loans
No incentive can make a bad deal bankable. But President Obama’s stimulus measures are spurring some promising small businesses
to begin borrowing again, despite the recession.
PTS sues Roche Diagnostic to end blood-monitor royalties
Polymer Technology Systems Inc., a small Indianapolis-based maker of handheld blood monitors, has gone to court to fight
a competitor more than 100 times its size: Roche Diagnostics Corp.
Demand for smart-phone applications spawns opportunities
Smart-phone fever is heating up the climate for innovation in the local tech community, as firms new and old try to cash
in on the demand for applications that can be used on the iPhone, BlackBerry and other gadgets from the likes of Palm and
Google.
Video firm Bennett Innovations reaches 25 years
The seven-person production house led by Bruce White counts IUPUI and Rolls-Royce North America among its clients.