Checkered Flag Imports' former owners, Rich Nowak, center, and Rich Hassan, right, stand outside the longtime auto shop with new owner Sergio Perez.
Rich Hassan, left, talks to Checkered Flag Imports' new owner, Sergio Perez, at the auto shop in Gary.
Sergio Perez, left, stands with former Checkered Flag Imports owners Rich Nowak, center, and Rich Hassan at the auto body shop in Gary.
When Rich Nowak, Richard Hassan and George Buzanowski founded an auto shop in Gary a half-century ago, they carved a unique niche.
They specialized in imports at a time when most cars on the road were domestic.
Foreign automakers since have gained significant market share, and Checkered Flag Imports kept rolling along. Now after 50 years, Nowak and Hassan — the two surviving owners — are both in their 70s and ready for retirement.
They're turning over the wheel of the long-running auto shop at 3663 Broadway in Gary's Glen Park neighborhood to a new owner, Sergio Perez.
When Nowak was fresh out of college, he was working at an auto supply shop at 41st Avenue and Gary when he realized it was difficult to find parts for British sports cars. People had to go to Chicago at the time.
He saw an opportunity to open a shop servicing foreign-made cars. The partners got a loan from Gary National Bank and started the business in 1971.
"We serviced cars from Portage, Crown Point, Merrillville, Griffith and Hobart," he said. "We were pretty centrally located."
Irish immigrants settled all across Northwest Indiana after it industrialized, including in Chesterton, where there are still several Irish pubs, and the unincorporated community of Leroy, which still has a sign bragging it was "one of Lake County's first Irish settlements." The Region even once had a neighborhood known as Little Ireland. Lake County's The Friendly Sons of Erin have given out Shamrock and John F. Kennedy awards for public service every year for decades.
Checkered Flag Imports tracked down foreign parts from wholesalers in Chicago and New York and eventually a network of sources around the country.
"There were trade magazines that advertised parts being available," he said. "We also found a lot of suppliers from the boxes. We soon had parts coming in from everywhere."
The auto shop long has specialized in higher-end cars like Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Porsche, Jaguar, Audi and Land Rover.
"Foreign cars really took off after the gas import embargo," Nowak said. "When gas prices increased, people stopped buying American gas guzzlers and started singing a different tune. Imported cars really started selling."
For a while, Checkered Flag Imports also serviced a lot of Toyota, Honda and other Japanese and Asian cars, but they eventually became so commonplace their owners could go anywhere for maintenance.
"It's kind of interesting because it came around full circle," Hassan said. "After the gas crisis, Japanese and Asian cars gradually became more and more popular so they made up a big part of our business.
"But as mechanics got more and more familiar with them, it diluted the market, and we went back to our roots of primarily working on European cars. They just different enough and just complex enough that a lot of service facilities don't want to do them."
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The specialty auto shop has developed a loyal customer base over the years.
"We've been consistent with the level of service and attention to customers over the years," Hassan said. "We've developed some pretty loyal customers, including the grandchildren of some of our first customers."
Checkered Flag Imports moved to its current location at 4940 Broadway in Glen Park in 1980, where it has a retail selection of parts as well as service bays. The 10,000-square-foot space — previously a tire store owned by Bob Moose before he was killed in an auto accident — was four times as large as the original shop.
They bought a lot along U.S. 30 in Merrillville for future expansion but ultimately decided to stick it out in Gary during a period when many businesses fled town.
"Our business was always really good," Hassan said. "We were a daytime business and never really had an issue with crime. We continued to draw from surrounding communities and from people who worked in Gary or used to live in Gary and were familiar with the area."
They ended up selling the land on U.S. 30 to a car dealer.
"Gary gets a lot of bad press, but we never had a problem here," Nowak said.
Checkered Flag Imports also once had a second location on Torrence Avenue in Lansing but sold it about 20 years ago.
The business was active in the local racing scene that so many of its customers — generally sports car enthusiasts — partook in.
"We never sponsored anyone or fully embraced it, but provided parts and general automotive repair to many of the drivers," he said.
Now they are selling to Perez, who has worked at auto shops in Chicago and Gary.
"He's a younger guy who's bilingual and has been in the business in the area," Nowak said. "We feel pretty confident he can service our valued customers. After 50 years, it's just time for us to retire and enjoy our families and ourselves. We had a good time here."
Perez said he's worked on cars all his life and planned to maintain the same quality of service at Checkered Auto Imports.
"It feels great to own my own place and to be able to help a lot of people," he said. "I like what I do. I just want to do the best we can to help the community and have good prices."
Checkered Flag Imports is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For more information, call 219-887-4957 or visit checkeredflagimports.biz.
Naan & Kabab comes to Schererville
Naan & Kabab is bringing Indian and Pakistani cuisine to the Crossroads of America.
The new Indo-Pakistani restaurant opened at 1686 U.S. 41 in Schererville. The menu includes chicken tikka masala, goat biryani and tandoori chicken marinated in Hung yogurt, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and freshly ground spices.
One can order lamb tikka masala, lamb shahi korma, lamb saag, lamb vindalo, keema matar, shrimp korma, Bengal fish curry, coconut chicken curry, chicken makhani and chicken chettinad for dine-in or takeout.
It serves curry at spices levels that include mild, regular, medium spicy, spicy hot and desi spicy.
"Naan & Kabab serves a variety of savory recipes from India’s rich culture and culinary traditions so that you can try a bit of everything," the restaurant says on its website. "At Naan and Kabab, we combine aromatic herbs & natural spices to create authentic Indian dishes."
Indo-Pakistani restaurant offers catering and hosts private parties
Just across the street from Tandoor Indian Cuisine, Naan & Kabab is a fine-dining restaurant that also does catering and private parties.
It will cater for special events or parties of between 50 and 500 people.
Naan & Kabab is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and from 4:30-10 p.m. for dinner Monday through Sunday. The lunch buffet is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.
For more information, call 219-440-7721, email naankabab1686@gmail.com or visit naankabab1686.com.
Pepey's Filipino Food and Sweets coming to Dyer
Pepey's Filipino Food and Sweets is coming soon to Dyer, with a local Polish favorite in tow.
The Filipino restaurant at 1233 Sheffield Ave. will serve breads, cakes and sweets like ube macapuno rolls, ube halaya, ube cheese and pandan cheese pandesal. It also will roll out a Pinoy food truck to local farmers markets and summer festivals.
In addition to the baked goods and treats, it will offer up pork and chicken adobo, pork lumpia, the vinegar-based fish dish Paksiw na Bangus, and laing, a dish of taro leaves and meat cooked in coconut milk that's spiced with labuyo chili, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, ginger and shrimp paste.
Pepey's Filipino Food and Sweets has been importing Filipino cuisines for local markets for a while now and is establishing its first brick-and-mortar location.
The restaurant and bakery, in a strip mall across from the Walt's Food Center, also will be home to Pierogi Planet. The Polish dumpling vendor, a store-within-a-store, will sell potato and cheddar, potato cheddar jalapeno, loaded baked potato, buffalo chicken, sweet cheese and sauerkraut pierogi every day. It also will offer seasonal pierogi flavors like Rueben, seafood, sweet potato, cranberry, cranberry orange, strawberry, blueberry, plum and pumpkin pie. Vegan seasonal flavors will include vegan versions of strawberry, blueberry, plum and sweet potato.
Pierogi Planet will periodically offer dozens of additional flavors for both vegans and omnivores, including spinach and feta, taco, teriyaki chicken, bacon cheeseburger, sauerkraut and mushroom, s'mores, prune, apple pie, cookie dough, cherry, carrot, peach, potato and onion, and broccoli and cauliflower.
All the flavors are available for special orders.
Customers can buy pierogi both frozen and fresh, in orders of three, six or a dozen.
For more information, find the business on Facebook, call 219-577-3545 or email pepeysfilipinogoodies@gmail.com.
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K & S Sew-N-Quilt relocates in Lowell
K & S Sew-N-Quilt moved from 304 E. Commercial Ave. to 410 E. Commercial Ave. in Lowell.
Owner Ilene Cresap said her shop had outgrown its former space. K & S Sew-N-Quilt provides alterations and embroidery services. The store also offers classes on quilting, sewing and crafts.
A grand opening is planned for April 17.
K & S Sew-N-Quilt will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, visit KSSewing.com, call 219-690-1695 or find the business Facebook.
The witching hour in Highland
Green Witch Cafe on Highway Avenue in downtown Highland is under new ownership.
The juicery has expanded hours and added events like open mic nights, said Lori Feldt, director of the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center.
"They serve healthy smoothies and juices as well as amazing looking vegetarian/vegan food," Feldt said.
For more information, call 219-803-4444.
Off the Top trimming hair in downtown Highland
Off the Top Gentlemen's Shop is now cutting hair in downtown Highland.
The barbershop opened at 2841 Highway Ave. where it has a prominent storefront. It offers a full range of hair care and grooming services, including eyebrow threading.
It's now hiring barbers and hair braiders.
Off the Top is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, call 219-902-7640 or find the business on Facebook.
The ribs return
Miller's Pub, a long-running institution in Chicago's Loop, reopens on April 1.
The old school restaurant at 134 S. Wabash Ave. dates to 1935. It serves "world-famous Canadian baby-back ribs," steak, seafood, burgers, sandwiches and other pub fare. Dessert options include tiramasu and key lime pie.
The Greek-owned restaurant has an ambiance that was compared to Cheers by the Wall Street Journal. Regular customers included Bill Veeck, Harry Caray, Jimmy Durante and Bob Fosse's dancers. Frank Sinatra and Dick the Bruiser also dined there, as one can ascertain from the vintage black-and-white photos of old legends on the wall.
For more information, visit millerspub.com or call 312-263-4988.
Velocity Clinical Research expands in Valpo
Velocity Clinical Research expanded to more than 5,000 square feet in Valparaiso.
The North Carolina-based medical research organization added 1,857 square feet to its site at 55 University Drive in Valparaiso. It's a 60% increase being heralded as a "signal of a commitment to the local area."
Dr. Robert Buynak founded the firm as Buynak Clinical Research in 2004. Velocity Clinical Research acquired his company in June of 2020 while it was doing clinical testing during the race to find a vaccine that would put an end to the coronavirus pandemic.
Velocity Clinical Research practices research for family practice and internal medicine, including for international COVID-19 vaccine studies.
“Velocity expanded their current space to fit their needs and signed a long-term lease for the location," said Antony Miocic, of Crown Point-based Latitude Commercial, which brokered the deal. "This is a win for everyone involved, not least the people who will benefit from the clinical research they’re conducting.”
For more information or to participate in a study, call 844-615-0754 or visit velocityclinical.com/locations/velocity-clinical-research-valparaiso/contact.
The China Buffet again serving up Kung Pao Chicken and Mongolian Beef
Some feared the coronavirus pandemic would spell the end of buffets.
But diners are still coming back for seconds ... and thirds ... and fourths.
China Buffet at 1640 U.S. 41 at the Crossroads of America intersection in Schererville returned in late February after closing because of COVID-19 last year. The restaurant is welcoming back diners with social distancing and face mask requirements.
For more information, call 219-865-2888 or find the business on Facebook.
If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
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March 30, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/new-owner-takes-the-wheel-at-checkered-flag-imports-after-50-years-in-region/article_f87faa60-55ac-53ab-9ea0-e76817bfd340.html
New owner takes the wheel at Checkered Flag Imports after 50 years in Region - nwitimes.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=Wheel&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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