A new Cajun seafood restaurant is bringing a taste of New Orleans to downtown Griffith.
Cajun Express opened at 138 S. Broad St. in Griffith. It offers southern-style seafood boils.
“My mom came from Louisiana. My dad was born in Chicago. They have lovely stories. My mom liked cooking so much. She me the seafood recipes,” owner Xu Chen said. “So I pick the beautiful and quiet town of Griffith and try to run a business to let more people try southern-style seafood.”
The menu includes clam, crawfish, shrimp, lobster trail, mussels, snow crab legs, king crab legs and dungeness crab. It also offers combos such as of snow crab with shrimp, snow crab with shrimp and sausage and crawfish with clams and mussels.
“Our signature is the Super Seafood Combo with clam, crawfish, mussels, shrimp snow crab legs and lobster,” he said. “It’s a total of 8 pounds. It could feed four to five people.”
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It also has teriyaki with lobster, jumbo shrimp beef or chicken.
Appetizers include sweet potato fries, Cajun fries, fries, hush puppies, veggie spring rolls, Cajun wings, fried jumbo wings, Buffalo wing, gyoza, fried calamari and fried oysters.
Cajun Express also has pop, the Mexican pop Jarritos, smoothies, strawberry lemonade and sunshine juice combining orange, strawberry and pineapple juices.
Most customers call in orders but Cajun Express offers dine-in, takeout and delivery, including through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
“We have casual dine-in areas to let customers feel comfy,” he said. “And of course, we require high standards. We guarantee all seafood fresh. Our secret ingredient is always seafood. Come join us for a seafood feast. Eat more seafood and gain less weight.”
For more information, call 219-513-9227.
Coming soon
Fuerte Restaurant, one of Hammond’s most popular Mexican eateries, will soon open a new location.
Fuerte is opening a new Mexican restaurant with an ice cream parlor and a drive-through by the Hammond City Hall, across from Hammond Central High School. It’s taking over the space at 5851 Calumet Ave., Hammond that was previously occupied by Ligia’s Restaurant Cafe and Castillos Philly Steaks.
It’s Fuerte’s third location. The family also owns Fuerte Meat Market at 3811 Hohman Ave., which is a Mexican grocery store with a small restaurant north of downtown, and Restaurant Fuerte at 6949 Indianapolis Boulevard in Hammond’s Woodmar neighborhood. Both offer $1 tacos that have attracted a devout following.
The new location should open in three more weeks, employee Luisa Magallon said.
“It will have a huge grand opening,” she said. “The new location will have Mexican ice cream and a drive-thru.”
It will offers the same menu of tacos, tortas, burritos and other Mexican fare. The tacos come in a lot of flavors, including steak, pork and chicken. On weekends, it adds carnitas and soup, including menudo.
It will sell Chicharrón snacks, a fountain machine with Pepsi products and have a year-round ice cream parlor with several flavors. It’s expected to employ about 20 people, Magallon said.
“This will be the third location. There’s lots of traffic,” she said. “We have a big space so we’re adding ice cream.”
The restaurant will be strictly takeout, like the Indianapolis Boulevard location has been since the pandemic. It used to have indoor seating but switched to a carryout format.
“It’s busy all the time,” she said. “We’re have people coming in and out for takeout all the time. It’s mostly pickup but we have a lot of walk-in too.”
Coming soon
Frankie’s Philly Steak is soon opening a second Hammond location.
The fast food restaurant at 7530 Calumet Ave. just off the Borman Expressway. It’s opening another location at 6911 Kennedy Ave. in Hammond’s Hessville neighborhood.
It offers Philly Steak, Philly Chicken, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, gyros, wings, chicken tenders, subs, salads, tacos and nachos.
Frankie’s carries many Chicago classics, including Chicago dogs, beef Polishes, Maxwell Street Polishes, Italian beef sandwiches, Italian sausage sandwiches and Italian beef and sausage combos. Sandwiches include a ribeye steak sandwich, a Reuben on rye, corned beef and patty melt. It has a Street City sandwich combing grilled roast beef with rye bread, American cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato and mayo, as well the the South Side classic Jim Shoe that stacks high corned beef, Italian beef and gyro meat.
Seafood options include shrimp, jumbo shrimp, perch, catfish and a fish sandwich.
Frankie’s also has ice cream shakes and desserts like cheesecake, sliced cake, cookies, banana pudding, peach cobbler, and taffy grapes.
It’s open for dine-in, takeout and delivery.
Open
The Waxi Taxi opened another Region location in downtown Crown Point.
The waxing service, which “drives away unwanted hair,” opened in the lower level of the historic Lake County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square.
The Waxi Taxi also has locations in Chesterton and Michigan City. It offers professional waxing services, including of eyebrows, lips, chins, sideburns, ears, faces, backs, chests, underarms, hands, feet, legs and other areas.
It exclusively uses Gigi Azulene Wax. It sells soothing products meant to heal the skin afterward, such as lavender grapeseed oil.
For more information, call 219-241-3847.
Coming soon
Phenix Salon Suites is coming to Schererville.
It plans to rent out suites for independent beauty, spa and barber professionals at 1525 U.S. 41, Town Manager Jim Gorman said.
Phenix Salon Suites is based in Las Vegas and has locations across the country and the United Kingdom. It has locations across Chicagoland, including on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago and in Tinley Park, Naperville, Downers Grove, Countryside, Oak Brook, Oswego, Schaumberg, Mount Prospect, Deer Park and Libertyville. Its only other Indiana locations are in Carmel and the Glendale Mall in Indianapolis.
It was founded by Gina Rivera, whose family has been in the beauty business since 1929 and who has appeared on “Undercover Boss.”
Coming soon
Play It Again Sports is now stocking up for the game.
The new Merrillville retailer is now buying used and new sporting and athletic equipment to build up its inventory.
The sporting goods retailer is located at 1876 E 80th Ave. across from Southlake Mall.
It buys and sells gear for hockey, baseball, softball, soccer, football and lacrosse, as well as golf clubs, treadmills, bikes, benches and weights,.
Play It Again Sports is a subsidiary of Winmark-the Resale Co., a Minneapolis-based retailer that focuses on resale for everyone. It also owns Plato’s Closet, Once Upon a Child, Music Go Round and Style Encore, all of which focus on resale.
Region resident Joe Molosky opened the local franchise. He’s a hockey player and parent who found the cost of youth sports to be rising and wanted to make it more affordable for children and families, ensuring they weren’t deterred by the expense.
“Northwest Indiana is a growing area, families are expanding and more people are setting roots in the area,” said Molosky. “We want Play It Again Sports to be a part of this growing community — a place where families and children are excited to come to. My hope is that we build long-lasting partnerships and relationships with families, sports leagues, teams, and facilities, all while making sports equipment for accessible to the Northwest Indiana community.”
The store pays customers on the spot for athletic equipment and sporting goods it chooses to purchase. No appointment is necessary.
The chain has more than 290 stores in North America and an e-commerce site. It aims to ensure sporting goods get recycled instead of dumped into a landfill.
For more information, call 219-500-4327 or find the business on Facebook, Instagram or www.playitagainsports.com/locations/merrillville-in.
Relocated
Guy’s Cycle moved from a spot off U.S. 30 to 1231 Sheffield Ave. in Dyer earlier this year.
The motorcycle repair shop employs seasoned technicians with more than 40 years of experience. They do repairs, maintenance and installation.
Guy’s Cycle also sells parts, apparel and accessories.
For more information, call 708-225-1820 or find the business on Facebook.
Open
Boot Barn took over the former Bed, Bath and Beyond spot across from the Southlake Mall in Hobart.
The western wear and work wear retailer is located at 2520 E 79th Ave by the Walmart Supercenter.
The retail chain was founded in 1978 and has grown into the largest western wear and work wear retailer in the nation with more than 400 stores in 44 states. It sells cowboy boots, cowboy hats, western wear, work boots, work clothes and outdoor gear.
It targets cowboys, outdoorsmen, farmers and workers, including in the oil and gas industry.
The Irvine, California-based company sponsors more than 600 rodeos around the country and veterans causes.
Boot Barn is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information, call 219-500-9696 or visit bootbarn.com.
Open
Lia’s Bella Cucina is serving up authentic Italian-American fare in Chesterton.
The Italian restaurant opened last year at 401 Broadway Ave., Chesterton, where it offers both indoor and outdoor seating.
The cafe’s menu includes antipasto, a Sicilian citrus salad, caprese, a caprese flatbread, bruschetta, caponata, oven-roasted garlic confit, Italian tuna salad, arancini, meatballs, a Caesar salad and an Italian chopped salad. Paninis come with a choice of chips or gorgonzola coleslaw.
Pasta entrees include mostaccioli, lasagna, eggplant parmesan and spaghetti and meatballs. Desserts include biscotti, gelato, tiramasu, cannoli and Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake.
It offers carryout and catering as well.
For more information, call 773-904-7266.
Open
Waiting Room is offering nightlife in downtown Valparaiso.
The cocktail bar opened late last year at 56 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso. It bills itself as Valparaiso’s premier listening bar, playing albums like The Ramones’ “Rarities 81-89,” The Black Key’s “Thickfreakness” and Led Zeppelin’s “Physical.”
It serves cocktails like an old fashion the Devil’s Haircut, which combines Ancho Tequila, Mezcal, Agave, Lime and Bitters. It’s named after a song by Beck and one of many cocktails with a musical reference like Fugazi, Psycho Killer, Paloma for Pyros, The Passenger, and Voodoo Child.
Waiting Room has mocktails, including Capri Sun and Tang that’s offered shaken or stirred.
It pours many high-end spirits, including whiskey, vodka, tequila, rum and gin. It also has a wine, craft beer by the bottle and a few craft beers on tap from breweries like BlockHead, Pipeworks, Revolution, Sierra Nevada and 450 North.
There’s a light food menu that includes small plates like marinated olives, brussels tartine, pretzels and pimento, carpaccio, shrimp cocktail, charcuterie, steak buns, French dippers and a Louder Than Hummus Platter.
Waiting Room is open from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
For more information, call 219-286-6044, email info@waitingroomvalpo.com or visit waitingroomvalpo.com.
If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
