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John Tepstra talks about the family business, a Culver's franchise that has now spread to six locations across Northwest Indiana.
HAMMOND — The Terpstra family has brought six Culver's restaurants to Northwest Indiana, which now has nearly a dozen Culver's overall.
The Wisconson-based chain has a cult following with its butter burgers, cheese curds, custard, fried cod sandwiches, coleslaw and other Midwestern fare. It just opened its latest fast food restaurant at 7905 Cabela Drive by Cabela's just off the Borman Expressway in Hammond last week.
The Terpstras started with a Culver's restaurant in Lansing and have grown to have a footprint across Northwest Indiana, with the latest coming to a location by the Indianapolis Boulevard exit off the expressway.
"I drove by this site, and I looked way in the back and I thought I saw a broken-down sign," Fred Terpstra said. "This was a swamp. I rolled up my pant legs. I had good shoes on. I walked through the water and the muck. All the way in the back was a sign broke in half. I put it together, and I got a phone number off that."
The site required extensive prepping to get it ready for development.
"We brought in 375 truckloads of fill," he said. "That's how much it took to get this place up to street level. We told every contractor we could talk to that we were looking for some fill. This was the place to bring it to. They kept it coming, kept it coming. We had a bulldozer here. Every time we got 10 loads or so we leveled it out. And that's how we got the site ready."
Founded in 1984, Culver's has grown to more than 870 locations across the country, including in Highland, Hammond, Merrillville, Schererville, St. John, Crown Point, Valparaiso, Portage, Chesterton, LaPorte and Michigan City.
The Terpstras own the six Lake County locations.
"I had a vision in 2006," Fred Terpstra said. "I thought if I could make all these restaurants 12 minutes apart, I thought that would work. With the first one in Lansing, I was just trying to make a dollar to pay for my kid's education. If you go from here to Highland, it's about seven minutes. If you go from Highland to St. John, it's about 12. Schererville, it's about 8 minutes. That's how it all worked out, about 12 minutes apart. If we run out, we can run to one of the other locations, pick it up and bring it back."
Terpstra said his plan overcame initial skepticism.
"I was told when I was starting out, 'That's not going to work,'" he said. "But I've been a Region Rat since 1951 and knew it would."
It's a family business his son John Terpstra also has a hand in.
"I am a lawyer by trade," Terpstra said. "When I was training up in Wisconsin to become a franchisee, I was often asked why I would trade lawyering for owning and operating a Culver's restaurant. If you're standing in the kitchen or in the front of the house and you see the wonderful team members, that's the reason I departed law, mostly to be a part of their lives, to hopefully have a positive impact on what they do on a day-to-day basis. A companion to that is our impact on the community. I was born in Hammond. I grew up in Highland. I'm a Northwest Indiana native. I'm a Region Rat. That's what they call it. I'm proud of it."
Parlor Doughnuts is now baking something sweet in Valparaiso, after celebrating its grand opening Saturday.
But Parlor Doughnuts Valparaiso is not your conventional doughnut shop. The Evansville-based chain specializes in craft doughnuts, specialty coffee and artisan baked goods.
Lifelong Valpo residents Marissa and Wes Barnes opened the franchise at 255 Morthland Drive in Valparaiso. It's a prominent space on U.S. 30 that was previously home to Jordy N Jax BBQ, Petey's Gyros and Dicky's Dogs.
The franchise is Parlor Doughnuts' third in Indiana and first in the northern part of the state.
It serves layered doughnuts that combine yeast and cake doughnuts. It also has vegan, gluten-free and keto-friendly doughnuts, as well as Doggie Doughnuts for good puppies. The menu also includes acai bowls, avocado toast and breakfast tacos.
“We are thrilled to bring Parlor’s products, brand and mission to Northwest Indiana — a region that celebrates with delicious comfort food and coffee, and appreciates top-notch customer service,” Marissa Barnes said. “One of our key values is to create a place that facilitates conversation and community where friends and families of all ages can gather in a vintage American space that feels like the 'Parlor,' a conversation center of 1900s Victorian homes but with a modern twist. My husband, Wes, and I are lifelong residents of Valparaiso and are excited to bring a business to our community that values giving back, including a passion for active military, veterans and first responders.”
Parlor Doughnuts was founded in Evansville in 2019 by Darrick Hayen, his son Noah and restaurateur Josh Tudela. Hayden toured the country with his son's band, sampling local doughnuts everywhere he went while Noah developed a passion for craft coffee.
They combined their interests to open Parlor Doughnuts, which has been growing fast across the country. It now has more than 24 locations open or in development from coast to coast.
The Valparaiso doughnut shop plans to employ around 20 people and is still hiring for a variety of jobs, including baristas and bakers.
For more information, visit www.parlordoughnuts.com or email parlordoughnutsvalpo@gmail.com.
Domino's, America's largest pizza chain, is headed to Munster.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based pizzeria, which already has an extensive footprint around the Calumet Region, signed a lease to open in the strip mall on Main Street that's anchored by Anytime Fitness.
“This will be an excellent location for Dominos and is a win-win for both the tenant and landlord. The center is now 100% occupied with strong, well-known tenants," said Brett McDermott of Crown Point-based commercial real estate firm Latitude Commercial, which represented the landlord.
Domino's has recently opened many new locations in Northwest Indiana, including in Highland and Griffith.
Gyros Bar and Grill opened in Valparaiso.
It's a family-friendly restaurant with a 21-plus lounge at 391 W. U.S. 6.
The 5,300-square-foot restaurant serves fare like gyros, burgers, hot dogs, chili dogs and ribs in a sit-down casual dining environment. It took over a former Pepe's that had been vacant for at least 20 years.
Gyros Bar and Grill seats about 150 diners. The menu includes chicken, fish, steak sandwiches and many Chicagoland favorites like Polish sausages and Italian beef sandwiches.
It's located along a busy stretch of U.S. 6 that 22,000 cars pass by weekly. Given its locations, it's expected to draw from Valparaiso, Chesterton, South Haven and Portage.
For more information, call 219-254-2351.
Captain's Seafood is coming soon to Michigan City.
The seafood market at 5360 Franklin St. will offer shrimp, fish, crab legs and lobster tails.
New owners took over the NutriHub Nutrition shop on U.S. 30 in Merrillville.
Jasmine Wade and Sheva Robinson bought the health food store at 536 E 81st Ave. in Merrillville. It specializes in meal replacement protein shakes packed with vitamins.
NutriHub sells a number of products like protein shakes, protein bars, herbal teas, energy teas, thermogenic teas and aloe. The 1,900-square-foot business employs five and has seating, including comfortable couches, for people who want to enjoy their shakes there.
"It's different things for health in general," Wade said. "We're registered nurses and the major health issues we've seen is one of the reasons we want to help everybody health-wise. We've seen unhealthy eating. We've introduced these products to our family. I don't want my family to be part of a statistic."
The pair aims to educate the public about health, such as by posting about nutritious eating on social media.
"We're out here to help our community," Robinson said. "These products help people lose weight. They help with obesity. They're low in sugar, so diabetics are able to take them. They can be used to built muscle for those struggling with gaining weight or maintaining weight. It's got minerals, vitamins and protein. It helps with digestion, skin and hair."
NutriHub aims to offer healthy fare that also tastes good. Shake flavors include many varieties of chocolate, fruit and candy such as Almond Joy, Peppermint Patty and Rootbeer Barrel.
"If you have a sweet tooth, we have cake and cookie flavors to satisfy that craving," Wade said. "We have a shake of the month that's lemon pound cake this month. It's healthy but sweet and it targets that craving."
People can try samples of the products on a trial basis. NutriHub also offers body scans to help clients meet their weight loss and wellness goals.
Wade and Robinson have been passing products at neighboring businesses like Athletico and Planet Fitness as outreach. They hope to eventually expand and open more franchises, including potentially in other states.
"We'd like to be able to get word out mouth going out," Wade said. "We're driven African-American women trying to make a difference in our community."
NutriHub is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 219-472-8488 or find the business on Facebook.
Brass Valley Vapor Company opened a few months ago on U.S. 30 in Valparaiso.
The vape shop is located at 1354 W Morthland Drive in Valpo Valparaiso. It offers a wide selection of vaping supplies, including "disposables, mods, salts, e-liquids, batteries and chargers, pods, coils, and delta products."
Brass Valley Vapor Company is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and 12-6 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, call 219-242-8335.
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Joseph S. Pete is a Lisagor Award-winning business reporter who covers steel, industry, unions, the ports, retail, banking and more. The Indiana University grad has been with The Times since 2013 and blogs about craft beer, culture and the military.
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John Tepstra talks about the family business, a Culver's franchise that has now spread to six locations across Northwest Indiana.
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