NWI Business Ins and Outs: St. John Planet Fitness, Buzzin Barbecue and Edgewater Health opening, Whiting Cafe and Anna's Kombucha closing
NWI Business Ins and Outs: St. John Planet Fitness, Buzzin Barbecue and Edgewater Health opening, Whiting Cafe and Anna's Kombucha closing
Coming soon
Planet Fitness is bringing its low-cost, "judgment free" gym concept to St. John.
The fast-growing chain of fitness centers, which recently opened new locations in Portage and Highland, plans to build an 18,000-square-foot gym in St. John, Director of Building & Planning Sergio Mendoza said.
The new gym will be on the northeast corner of 101st Place and Earl Drive.
Planet Fitness offers members free pizza and bagels once a month, along with an array of weightlifting and cardio equipment. It has several Northwest Indiana locations, including in Hammond, Schererville, Merrillville, Hobart, Valparaiso and Michigan City.
Coming soon
Buzzin Barbecue plans to start serving up slow-cooked meats in downtown Whiting.
Antonio "Buzz Lightyear" Cisneros is opening the new barbecue joint at 1423 119th St. The space was previously occupied by Hen House Charcoal Chicken and before that by Comfort Roast Coffee House.
"I do craft-style barbecue, how we make it nowadays," he said. "It's wood-smoked on two different woods. The pulled pork, ribs and certain meats are smoked on cherry, while the turkey and beef brisket are smoked on woods from Texas."
He brings in seasonings and pepper straight from Texas.
"We do Texas brisket, central Texas-style," he said. "Sauce is on the side. It's on the side for everything except for the Chicago-style rib tips. They don't need sauce but we keep it traditional."
Buzzin Barbecue will sell meats by the pound, such as pork belly, ribs, rib tips, turkey, brisket and sausage links. People will be able to get sandwiches and platters with sides like mac and cheese, jalapeno coleslaw, Tex-Mex street corn, pimento cheese with jalapenos and Texas Twinkies — bacon-wrapped jalapenos are stuffed with Philadelphia cream cheese and chopped brisket.
"Texas Twinkies and pork belly are usually the hottest items," he said. "Those go quick."
Cisneros has been smoking meat for more than 20 years and has been grilling skirt steak and hamburgers since he was young. After buying a commercial smoker, he started catering to private events and pop-ups.
He cooks everything on wood.
"There's no gas, no propane," he said. "It's all wood-based."
When it's gone for the day, it's gone.
"Everything's fresh," he said. "It's quality over quantity. Everything's made fresh daily."
Initially, Buzzin Barbecue will offer a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce and a North Carolina-style mustard-based sauce. They will be available at the table and also sold by the bottle.
"We're working on more sauces, some really hot sauces," he said. "They're in the works."
The restaurant will serve agua fresca from Poco Picoso, including horchata, watermelon, mango and strawberry flavors. It also will have Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Sierra Mist and other pops. Eventually, it hopes to add a selection of craft beer.
The restaurant hopes to open on March 26th if it passes its final inspection on time. The 2,900-square-foot restaurant will seat about 40 people at seven tables and three booths. It will offer dine-in and carryout.Â
It's looking into delivery but that's up in the air for now.
"It's a great community right by the lake," he said. "It's a very welcoming community. We're going to bring fresh quality barbecue."
Buzzin Barbecue will be open from 11 a.m. until the food is sold out, likely around 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Over time, it plans to increase hours and days.
For more information, call 219-655-5342 or find the business on Facebook and TikTok.
Closed
Anna's Kombucha is wrapping up its operations.
The Gary-based business brewed kombucha, a fermented tea with ancient Eastern roots prized for its digestive and health benefits. It was sold at many local businesses in Northwest Indiana, Illinois and Southwest Michigan.
"After a lot of thought, Anna’s Kombucha has come to an end. I want to thank everyone who has supported me in the almost seven years that I’ve been in business," owner Anna Martinez posted. "Going through these pictures and the others on social media reminded me of just how much we really pushed out of our makeshift kitchen. Anna’s moved a total of six times in our short life. Many times with little warning. Yet, we endured. And it would have never been possible without your support."
The business originally operated as Anna's Kombucha Cafe at two spots on Lake Street in Gary's lakefront Miller neighborhood. It then closed the cafe, switching to a production model.Â
A staple on local shelves, it was stocked by many local businesses, such as Indie Indie Bang Bang, Vibrations, Fluid Coffeebar, Smartbelly, Oh Gee, Octave Grill, Sip Coffee House, Charcuterie, Tomato Bar, Nature's Cupboard, Produce Depot and Grounded Earth Farm.
"Thank you to everyone who came by and got some kombucha, coffee, breakfast or lunch," Martinez posted. "I will definitely miss a lot of what this experience has brought to my life. But, I want to express the most thanks to my former staff. I couldn’t have ever asked for better people to be around and I’m glad I still get to talk to most of you on a regular basis. Much love to you all."
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