Three ribbon cuttings & a demolition

Today (Friday) was ribbon-cutting day for the Chamber of Commerce. First up was Doggers, the new eatery on Washington Street.

 The owner is new to the restaurant business, having spent the last twenty years as a carpenter working in Lake County. He said that he was tired of the commute and tired of some of the politics of work and decided he wanted to run his own restaurant. I asked him how he developed his menu and he said that customer feedback was important. He asks customers what they like and what they do not like and adjusts.

The decor is pretty much the same as when it was Bub BBQ, with the same light fixtures and seating. The owner plans to redo the seating when time allows. Right now there is a lot of aisle space.

 One change already made is that the kitchen has been closed in a bit.

 The menu is simple, mostly sausages and hamburgers. It is also reasonably priced.

Next up was Healthy Glow Spray Tanning. My camera's battery died when I was ready to capture the moment of the cutting and by the time I had my backup camera ready, the ribbon had fallen. The owner of this business will be familiar to fans of the Carnegie Players as she had starred in a couple of recent musicals, including the last one, Oklahoma, and in the Sound of Music, where she played Maria. She lives in Morocco but found most of her customers were from Rensselaer when her business was mobile, without an office.

 I also missed the big moment on the third ribbon cutting, that at Ayda's. I was trying to take pictures on my camera and also the phone of one of the people in the picture. I hope I got the moment of ribbon cutting for him.

 ( I parked my bike far down the sidewalk so it would not get into the picture and yet there it is.)

It rained most of the morning, which the people setting up the Little Cousin Jasper Festival did not appreciate. Some were more prepared than others. The forecast for the rest of the festival is cool without rain.

 As I left I noticed that the building on Front Street that I thought was being remodeled is in fact being demolished.

 Here is the view from the back.

I never did mention that the northbound lanes on I-65 are now open. They opened almost a week ago, ahead of schedule. Anyone making the drive to and from Indianapolis is very happy not to be making the detour.

There was a meeting of the community garden group last night and it now appears that the community garden will be available again next summer. (There was no community garden this summer after two years of having a community garden.) Some details still need to be worked out, but the outlook is promising.