Indianapolis is My Home

01
Aug

Brightpoint Moves HQ and Returns Home

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Local Businesses, Northwest Side, Real Estate

It was almost 20 years ago that Brightpoint started their existence on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. They announce today that they’ll be moving their headquarters back to the Indy and not very far from where they started.

Brightpoint will be moving HQ from Plainfield and into the new building being finished by Interactive Intelligence.

The company, which has about 65 headquarters employees and about 1,000 workers in Indiana, plans to share a new building with software developer Interactive Intelligence Inc. and engineering firm Woolpert Inc. along Interstate 465 north of West 71st Street. The space will allow the company to implement an expansion that calls for up to 60 new headquarters employees in the next seven years.

It’s always good to hear about a company moving to make room for expansion, but I’m sure the loss will be felt by Plainfield as well.

Source: Brightpoint to move HQ to Indy on IBJ

02
Jul

Dave Wilson’s One-Liners Comedy Club Closes in Greenwood

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Comedy, Greenwood, Local Businesses

Indianapolis will have one less thing to laugh at now along with a visual icon on the south side of the city in Greenwood. One-Liners’ comedy club will be closing down and it’s unknown if it was sold or just shutting down completely. The website looks like it’s now in some kind of partnership with Cracker’s Comedy Club, or maybe that’s just Dave being friendly with the local comedy scene.

The statement from their website says that the owner, Dave "The King" Wilson, a local WIBC talk radio host, in the article states the following:

In a statement on One-Liners’ Website, the couple said they were closing the business "to pursue other dreams."

There will be fewer laughs in the city and fewer people that will do a double-take as they drive on Main Street in Greenwood over by the I-65 intersection and see the backside of a plane that’s apparently crashed into the roof of the building.

They will certainly be missed.

The news story reports about some recent fines that the club had to pay due to some seemingly idiotic city ordinances and complaints that someone filed against them.

Greenwood comedy club closes after 16 years | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

17
Jun

Take a 10-yr Old’s Advice - It’s worth it!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Elementary, Environment, Government, Indianapolis Star, Local Businesses, People, Students

Wynn Brower isn’t really the person you’d expect to be taking advice from these days but it turns out this Bloomington resident has got some stuff many of us should probably be thinking more about.

For a class science project he determined that his family could save a $1/day by just turning off their computer at night. Multiply that be how ever many computers you’ve got going while you sleep, multiplied by the number of homes like yourself and you’ve got a big savings in energy every single night.

It doesn’t stop there though, what if the city governments did it as well?

Wynn demonstrated how he used a device to test the energy use of a laptop and desktop computer, then extrapolated the results to the county’s 550 computers. He came up with a savings of $25,000 a year if all computers were turned off at the end of the workday.

Lot’s of people talk about being "green" and conscious about the environment. I think there are loads of opportunities out there for everyone to make an impact in our city that don’t require buying a hybrid or installing solar panels on our roofs.

Why aren’t we hearing more about these little ways we can all do our part?

10-year-old tells county how to save $25,000 | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

13
Jun

The Bean Cup - It’s a Must!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Coffee Shops, Greenwood, Local Artists, Local Businesses, Local Musicians, South Side, Things To Do in Indy

After hearing about The Bean Cup a couple of different times from fellow Indianapolis blogger, Douglas Karr, I decided the next time I worked remotely I’d stop by for a visit.

I stopped in this afternoon to get some work done and try out their version of my favorite drink, a chai tea latte. I little darker than my favorite at my other remote office location (I feel dirty, like I’m cheating on my friends there).

I got to meet the two owners, Chris and Jason Carr. A great couple and seem to totally love what they’re doing with running The Bean Cup. The initiating factor to our conversation was that I thought it was cool they they run a place called "The Bean Cup" and their names are Chris and Jason. If you haven’t noticed yet, my name is Jason and my brother’s name is Chris and our last name is "Bean".

The other very interesting thing I learned today was about Douglas Karr, who’s affectionately referred to as "Norm" at The Bean Cup. Himself, Jason Carr and two other individuals and The Bean Cup, was recently featured in BusinessWeek. The group is competing in the Cisco I-Prize competition. Really cool!

The opening paragraph of the article lays everything out beautifully:

The Bean Cup, a coffee house on the southern edge of Indianapolis, is about as far as you get from Silicon Valley, culturally speaking. Shoehorned between an Arthur Murray Dance studio and a shuttered beauty salon in a nondescript strip mall, the Bean Cup bears faint resemblance to the storied Palo Alto work-play spaces where coders spend all night building what they hope will be the next big thing in tech. That’s not stopping Douglas Karr, a bearded, burly Gulf War vet, from using the Bean Cup to incubate his own big tech dreams.

Later on that afternoon I had an iced white-chocolate blackberry latte ( I think that’s what it was) that was delicious as well. The atmosphere is great, they seem to have a very diverse client base so I think everyone would be happy here if you love great coffees and tea and more.

Similarly to The Strange Brew they also feature artistic works from local artists which you can buy right off the wall if you find something you like. The only challenge I noticed was the same challenge I find with every location offering free wi-fi, FAR TOO FEW POWER PLUG ACCESS!!! The Carrs said they’ll be working on that soon so they will be no reason to not go visit and get some work done of your own.

All in all the final score is that the south side of Indianapolis has two great options for locally owned coffee shops where local artists (both artistic and music) can showcase their talents as well as connect with the community around us.

If you’re on the south side of Indy around the Greenwood Mall, stop by The Bean Cup and get your java fix there. If you’re further south, stop on by The Strange Brew. If you’re a regular customer of one already, give the other a try and spread the love. Don’t worry, St. Arbuck’s will get along without you and these local business owners will be more than happy to serve you some great coffee.

01
Jun

Local Flavor Will Fill New Indianapolis Airport

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Bars, Pubs & Grills, Dining, Local Businesses, Local Establishments, Traffic & Transportation

Four new local restaurants have signed on to be tenants at the new airport to welcome visitors to Indianapolis to the flavors of Indianapolis as well.

Harry & Izzy’s, Scholars Inn, Shapiro’s Deli and Slippery Noodle Inn have just signed on to join Cafe Patachou, 96th Street Steakburgers, King David Dogs and Georgio’s Pizza as some local eateries that will be located in the new Indianapolis airport.

I really like the idea of having local establishments being spotlighted in the airport. Although sometimes nice to eat somewhere you’re familiar with when in a new city, but I think this is a great way to share a little of the local flavor with the visitors coming into the city every day as they arrive and depart.

11
Jan

Lunch at Claude & Annie’s

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Bars, Pubs & Grills, Local Businesses, Local Establishments, Northwest Side, WRTV - TV Channel 6

My boss and I stumbled into an unexpected great lunch earlier this week. That’s far better than stumbling out of the place later in the evening.

We dropped into Claude & Annie’s Park 100 location because my boss had some tires replaced on his car. It was within walking distance and we thought we’d give it a try.

From looking at their website it appears the lunch buffet menu changes, but it was fried chicken, pork chops, deep fried biscuits with apple butter, mashed potatoes and gravy, potato wedges, buttered carrots and a salad bar.

Let me just say that the chicken, gravy and biscuits were delicious! I ate way too much.

The only downfall for me was the smokey atmosphere, but hey, I expected that going in and their website proudly proclaims they welcome smokers. Again, this is to be expected and I don’t fault them for it at all. I also learned they were an WRTV6 A-List Award winner as well! So, I don’t guess this was too hidden from the majority of the public other than me.

They’ve got loads of pool tables, darts machines and have Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournaments each week. Not sure I’ll be back for any of that, but I’ll be back for the fried chicken for sure.

09
Jan

Holy Closed Doors Batman!!!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Downtown, Local Businesses, Museums, Things To Do in Indy

The Indianapolis Super Heroes Museum has closed its doors.

A downtown Indianapolis museum that displayed a collection of Superman, Batman and other super hero memorabilia has closed its doors.

The American Super Heroes Museum displayed the collection of Dane Nash of Fishers.

Nash didn’t indicate the reason for closing the museum, which has been shut since Dec. 31. It opened last spring.

That’s too bad, but I guess people like me are to blame. I thought it was a great idea but I never visited the museum. Apathy sucks you know it? I need to make a better effort of getting out more and doing stuff that’s local and support more local, independent business ventures.

What’s your favorite "hidden" local thing you love to do that more people should know about? The only problem with that is when things become too well known they lose some of their mystery don’t they?

Source: IBJ
Image Source: trentisw.com

08
Jan

Silly Safaris Live Animal Shows

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Areas, Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Elementary, Greenwood, Local Businesses, People, Seminars, South Side

If you’re looking for a unique party for your kids birthday and those same kids just happen to love animals, look no further than Silly Safaris.

What kid doesn’t love animals? With Silly Safaris you get to let them see and interact with some really great things they may only see on Discovery Channel.

If you’re a teacher, you can also have Silly Safari come in for a special class or lesson on animals.

Here’s a little bit about what Silly Safari offers:

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