NWI Business Ins and Outs: Chipotle, Goomba Pizza, Clutch Bagels and Steinhafels opening

Chipotle Mexican Grill is slated to open in February at its new location in Crown Point.

The fast-casual Mexican chain is opening in a newly constructed building at 1205 N. Main St., across from Jewel-Osco. It’s now hiring at the nearly completed restaurant.

Chipotle already has a Crown Point location at 10715 Broadway. The fast-growing chain has been opening new restaurants, including upcoming ones in St. John and Valparaiso. It’s also been renovating or moving existing locations so they can have drive-thru Chipotlanes for picking up online orders.

Chipotle is known for customizable burritos and bowls made with fresh ingredients including steak, black beans, cilantro lime rice and house-made guacamole. A favorite among younger diners in particular, it helped popularize the fast-casual category and customization. It has several similar rivals, such as Qdoba and Dos Bros Fresh Mexican Grill, which just opened outside the Southlake Mall.

Chipotle continues to grow all across Northwest Indiana, where it has locations in Dyer, St. John, Highland, Munster, Merrillville, Portage, Chesterton, Valparaiso and Michigan City. It also has a strong footprint in the south suburbs, including in Lansing, South Holland and Homewood.

Open

Goomba Pizza is now serving up tavern-cut pizza in Hammond’s Hessville neighborhood.

The new pizzeria took over the former Loven-Oven space at 6808 Kennedy Ave.

“Loven-Oven was well-known here for years before it closed,” owner Sam Mikhail said. “We serve the same pizza and a similar menu with a couple changes and a couple more items.”

Goomba specializes in thin crust, but also has stuffed and deep-dish pizzas, as well as sandwiches and appetizers. It can seat about 50 diners inside, but focuses on takeout and delivery.

“We’re looking to get it going,” Mikhail said. “Loven-Oven had a customer base so we thought why waste that location. We hope to bring back the same customer base. There’s the possibility it goes well. We’ll see in three months.”

For more information, call 219-803-0508.

Opening

Miller residents will soon be able to grab a quick bagel on their way to work in Chicago.

Clutch Bagels and Spreads in Miller is opening a satellite in the South Shore Line's Miller Beach train station Monday. It has a spot at 444 Lake St. just north of there, but was looking to capture some of the commuter business at the newly built train station.

The authentic New York City-style bagel restaurant opened at 444 Lake St. last year after getting its start as a food truck at local markets, and then in the Lincoln Kitchen culinary incubator in St. John. It hand-rolls, boils and bakes all its bagels in the traditional New York fashion, offering Region residents a taste of an East Coast culinary staple. 

Clutch makes 17 varieties of bagels daily, as well as other baked goods like focaccia, English muffins, brioche buns and sticky buns. It also sells bagel sandwiches, including a classic bacon, egg and cheese and a smoked baloney sandwich with a thick-cut slab of baloney. Popular bagel flavors include asiago, everything and pumpernickel. 

Clutch Express will be open from 6-11 a.m. at the train station. For more information, visit clutchfoodtruck.com.

Coming soon

The furniture store Steinhafels is coming to Merrillville.

Steinhafels plans to open a store in Merrillville Plaza at 1600 E. 80th Ave., near the Southlake Mall, later this year. It will take over the 50,000-square-foot space that was previously home to The Roomplace and, before that, Art Van Furniture.

Founded in Milwaukee in 1934, Steinhafels sells furniture, mattresses and home decor. The employee-owned company is Wisconsin's leading furniture and mattress retailer with more than 700 employees. It is planning to open in Northwest Indiana to complete a ring around the Chicagoland metropolitan area, where it has seven stores.

Steinhafels now has 16 stores in Wisconsin and Illinois and the Merrillville location will be its first in Indiana and first outside those two states. 

Open 

J.J.'s Fish and Chicken recently opened at 1532 N Arbogast St. in Griffith.

Closed

Tequila and Tacos shuttered in Gary’s Miller neighborhood.

The taco joint and cantina at 642 S. Lake St. served up a variety of tacos, including creative options like salmon, veggie and pizza tacos. It was a festive nightlife spot that poured tequila, margaritas and cervezas.

It was especially popular in the summer, as it was just a few minutes from the beach on Miller’s Lake Street commercial stretch.

Closed

Cute as a Cupcake! Cupcakery & Bake Shop closed at 727 Main St. in Schererville, just across from the Highland Grove Shopping Center and next to Albert's Diamond Jewelers.

The cupcakery remains open at its flagship location at 2008 W. 81st Ave. in Merrillville, and also has a food truck that visits festivals across the Region.

Cute as a Cupcake! started in 2015 and makes 20 different types of cupcakes daily, including red velvet, turtle, strawberry eclair and Dutch caramel apple. It uses recipes from the owner's grandmother while making all its cupcakes from scratch.

It's known for its cutie cupcakes that are served in mason jars to make them more portable.

Cute as a Cupcake opened in Schererville in 2023 at the strip mall that's home to Little Ceasar's, GNC, Hot Works, Starbucks and Oberweis Ice Cream.

Closed

Dickey's Barbecue Pit has closed in Schererville, again.

The Texas-based chain closed its barbecue restaurant in the Crossroads Shopping Center at 1505 U.S. 41.

Dickey's is a fast-food barbecue restaurant known for its signature pit-smoked meats like brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, turkey and Polish kielbasa. It opened in the outdoor shopping center anchored by Strack & Van Til at the Crossroads of the Nation intersection of U.S. 30 and Indianapolis Boulevard in 2021 and previously had a Schererville location a few miles north.

Dickey's also previously had locations in Highland and Portage that also closed.