Possibility of Maggiano's or Cheesecake Factory coming to Northwest Indiana? (Schererville: restaurants, mall)

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by ta1064

richb - Thanks for your insight.

A few more questions:

- Are you saying it was a "mistake" to build Southlake Mall in the US 30 corridor in Merrillville/Hobart?

- Are you predicting that no retail corridor in Northwest Indiana will ever reach the level of the Orland Park/Tinley Park, Lombard/Oakbrook, Aurora/Fox Valley or Schaumburg/Woodfield areas?

I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but nowhere in NWI is NEARLY comparable to Lombard/Oak Brook malls. That is one of the wealthiest, if not THE wealthiest area throughout all of Chicagoland, inculding several major businesses HQ'd around there (McDonald's, ACE hardware), making it a prime area for upscale dining and famous restaurants. Not to much of that in NWI.

[Big Play]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

I would say that Northwest Indiana is the stepchild...but also, I would say probably treated much better than the south suburbs (east of I-57)...they would be more like the "illegitimate child" that very few people want to claim.

Having grown up in Munster, and then subsequently lived in A) the North Side of Chicago, B) the Western Suburbs, and C) the Northern Suburbs, I have to say that Northwest Indiana is not even considered a stepchild by most in those areas. It's not even considered or thought of.

I always found it ridiculous and hard to believe, but that's the thought process. Frankly, I understand it now...though I wish it wasn't true since I'm still loyal to NWI. It's just vastly different from the Chicago suburbs. The % of population that's college educated is drastically lower in NWI versus most all of middle class Chicago suburbia (except the disaster that is the south suburban Illinois area), and I think that's a big reason why it's simply overlooked.

Believe me, I like the education I got from Munster back in the day and really liked growing up there, so I'm not bashing the area.

As for the South Suburbs being the illegitimate child, I'd say that's a spot on analogy

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Big Play

Having grown up in Munster, and then subsequently lived in A) the North Side of Chicago, B) the Western Suburbs, and C) the Northern Suburbs, I have to say that Northwest Indiana is not even considered a stepchild by most in those areas. It's not even considered or thought of.

I always found it ridiculous and hard to believe, but that's the thought process. Frankly, I understand it now...though I wish it wasn't true since I'm still loyal to NWI. It's just vastly different from the Chicago suburbs. The % of population that's college educated is drastically lower in NWI versus most all of middle class Chicago suburbia (except the disaster that is the south suburban Illinois area), and I think that's a big reason why it's simply overlooked.

Believe me, I like the education I got from Munster back in the day and really liked growing up there, so I'm not bashing the area.

As for the South Suburbs being the illegitimate child, I'd say that's a spot on analogy

I have had the good fortune to know many nice folks from NWI and for folks that can make it work, either with a Loop based job that they get to via Metra or some kind of "office at home" situation with less than five days a week schlepping around the messed up bottlenecks between the IL-IN-MI corridor it can be a pretty nice quality of life. The heritage of rust belt industries and really poor planning to remedy the abuses that have occurred on most of NWI's lakefront along with just freightening level of municipal dysfunction in Gary make it easy for folks to sorta "hold their breath and close their eyes" when traveling between SW MI and Chicago but the degree to which this could shift is largely a function of how serious efforts to really rebuild manufacturing might be.

The fact is the upsides of the geographic proximity to Chicago and Lake Michigan and remarkable high capacity road ways and so close to top notch universities like UofC and Purdue and Notre Dame make the desolation of NWI sort of a lesson in how to really crater a region with bad politics...

The sorts of depths that not just Gary but many of the south suburbs of Chicago are mired in show what happens when corrupt and incomptent office holders don't make necessary efforts to fight crime and enforce laws. It will take an enormous reinvestment to restore these areas to desirability and folks in areas that are currently better than these pits are going to have to also change their attitudes that make regional solutions all but impossible...

[bigpop007]

Originally Posted by Big Play

Having grown up in Munster, and then subsequently lived in A) the North Side of Chicago, B) the Western Suburbs, and C) the Northern Suburbs, I have to say that Northwest Indiana is not even considered a stepchild by most in those areas. It's not even considered or thought of.

I, too, have found this to be unbelievable. For many of the folks I've come across in Chicago, NWI may as well be on another planet. I'm not sure if it's due to perception, elitism, or a general lack of familiarity with the region. Whenever I try to explain that places like Munster or Schererville are comparable to suburbs like Naperville or Schaumburg in areas such as demographics, housing stock, amenities, distance, and travel time, it just doesn't register. Blank stares are a typical response. This tends to hold true even when discussing the dunes/lakeshore, which, in my opinion, is the crown jewel of NWI. If you want to go to a beach in the Midwest, the dunes are a must see.

In a bit of irony, I must say that Chicago folks seem to love Wisconsin, though (save for the Packers).

[Big Play]

Well, I wouldn't agree at all that Munster or Schererville are comparable places to Naperville or Schaumburg. Both of those Illinois communities offer a lot more, and it's not even close with respect to Naperville in particular.

Naperville has better housing, neighborhoods, shopping, dining, a very nice downtown, the Riverwalk, closer to major corporations/employment, has an express train to the Loop, parks, etc. While we're on the same page that it's unbelievable that they don't know a thing about NWI, let's be realistic and accept that even the best of NWI doesn't come remotely close to offering the same thing as Naperville.

We do have the dunes/lakeshore, I agree - that's our crown jewel. I say "our" even though I don't live in NWI anymore, but my heart's still there. That area should be marketed much better than it is.

[pendowski]

I would definitely vote for Maggiano's.We love this restaurant ALOT and I think it would do fantastic out here. Other than Olive Garden there isn't alit of Italian choices.I would also like to suggest PF CHANG'S though. Ithink that would do Even better.We have NO chinese options out here AT ALL other than panda express..and thats just really fast food to me.Thanks for listening! !

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by pendowski

I would definitely vote for Maggiano's.We love this restaurant ALOT and I think it would do fantastic out here. Other than Olive Garden there isn't alit of Italian choices.I would also like to suggest PF CHANG'S though. Ithink that would do Even better.We have NO chinese options out here AT ALL other than panda express..and thats just really fast food to me.Thanks for listening! !

I'm with you 100% about Maggianos and PF Chang's. I think they'd do really well in NWI. I'm not quite sure what town you're in, but Carrabbas Italian grill actually just opened in Schererville a couple weeks ago. If you like Olive Garden you'd like Carrabbas. Maybe Maggiano's is waiting to see how Carrabbas does before opening in the area? I'd say Carrabbas is a step up from Olive Garden, and Maggiano's is a step up from Carrabbas.

[Northwest Indiana]

I'm for PF Changs, Maggiano's and Cheesecake Factory as far as chains go. However, as good as PF Changs it, it is NOT a substitute for authentic Chinese food...not by a longshot...however, I have noticed a surge in the east asian population in the Munster area which will hopefully draw more asian restaurants to compete with the many in the area that quite frankly, I believe are stagnant.

[skobabe8]

Originally Posted by pendowski

I would definitely vote for Maggiano's.We love this restaurant ALOT and I think it would do fantastic out here. Other than Olive Garden there isn't alit of Italian choices.I would also like to suggest PF CHANG'S though. Ithink that would do Even better.We have NO chinese options out here AT ALL other than panda express..and thats just really fast food to me.Thanks for listening! !

Not sure where you live, but if you look hard enough you can find some great Italian restaurants in the region (Cafe Borgia, Livio's, Ciao Bella, Lucrezia). All of those run circles around Olive Garden. I also believe there are decent Chinese options in almost every town. But at least most of the Chinese options, if not all, are superior to Panda Express.

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by pendowski

I would definitely vote for Maggiano's.We love this restaurant ALOT and I think it would do fantastic out here. Other than Olive Garden there isn't alit of Italian choices.I would also like to suggest PF CHANG'S though. Ithink that would do Even better.We have NO chinese options out here AT ALL other than panda express..and thats just really fast food to me.Thanks for listening! !

While you're at it, throw in a Famous Dave's barbecue chain. The closest one is in Orland Park, IL.

The big undeveloped lot on Indpls Blvd between Vanis Spa and Lowe's would be a great location for new restaurants.

Northwest Indiana is getting better in terms of restaurant offerings, but it's still playing catch-up to its Illinois neighbors.