On today's show I sat down with my colleague Cheyne Reiter to discuss trending headlines, Indiana events, St. Patrick's Day weekend ideas, and more. Plus, I was joined by Cameron Sickafoose, who built a database of over 850 Indiana restaurants that have been open 30-plus years, including the Log Inn from 1825.
We discuss Sweetwater founder Chuck Surack's group investing millions to build a 30–35,000 sq. ft. downtown Fort Wayne grocery store with bakery, deli, and fresh meat, targeted for early 2027. We then get into the $33.4B acquisition of AES by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT Infrastructure and discuss concerns about utility bills amid data-center power demand.
Our conversation moves to a lighter note with a preview of Final Four Weekend concerts in Indianapolis (Twenty One Pilots, Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney), a South Bend festival featuring Eric Church and Hardy, Colts free-agency moves, upcoming Journey and basketball tournaments in the Circle City, and St. Patrick's Day recommendations.
Cameron also shares the top 10 oldest restaurants in Indiana and shares some of his top restaurant recommendations across the state.
If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference or discuss trending topics in Indiana, visit getindiana.com/podcast.
You are going to learn about:
Sweetwater Enterprise to Build Grocery Store in Fort Wayne
AES Going From a Public Company to Privately Owned
Final Four and Boots on the Bend Concert Lineups
The Indianapolis Colts' Offseason Moves
Indiana's Top 10 Oldest Restaurants
Check out these great clips from the show:
00:00 Top Indiana Headlines Preview
00:40 What'd We Learn About Indiana This Week
01:16 Butler Blue IV and PETA Debate
03:15 Fort Wayne Downtown Grocery Store
04:56 AES Buyout and Data Center Power
08:00 Final Four Concerts in Indy
09:29 South Bend Boots on the Bend Fest
10:12 Colts Free Agency Shakeup
12:05 Upcoming Indiana Events Calendar
14:45 Historic Restaurants Interview Begins
16:33 Why He Built the Restaurant Database
20:12 How He Verified Restaurant Ages
23:56 Oldest Restaurants: Log Inn and Slippery Noodle
28:05 Favorites and City Hotspots
30:10 Evansville Restaurant Deep Dive
31:48 Top Cities and Lake County
33:29 Cuisine Trends Over Decades
34:42 Turning the List Into a Tool
36:53 Top 10 Oldest Restaurants
41:46 Random Road Trip Picks
44:17 Support Local Legacy Spots
47:33 Trivia Games
51:58 Things to Do on St. Patrick's Day
