Category: Business & Finance

B-town Retailers Finding New Ways to Collaborate

(l-r) DBI Executive Director Talisha Coppock and oak owner Talia Halliday are working to develop more creative partnerships among Bloomington retailers and restaurants. Photo by Martin Boling By Barb Berggoetz Talia Halliday...

New High-End Condos Coming to Kirkwood

Featuring 11-foot ceilings, outdoor balconies, large closets, and on-site parking, prices for the new condos will start at $780,000. Courtesy rendering by Sophie Bird Murphy Across the street from the historic Buskirk-Chumley...

Bluestone Tree: Where Nothing Is Wasted!

Bluestone Tree is a Bloomington-based tree care and removal company that can make a rare claim: “Nothing goes to waste.”

Travel Leaders: Enduring Tough Times & Then Some

After working remotely for most of the pandemic, the three agents at Travel Leaders eagerly returned to their office on June 1.

‘Wally’ Ouedraogo: Coffee Is His Thing

For the first three decades of his life, coffee wasn’t something Oualelaye “Wally” Ouedraogo thought too much about.

RevSports: A Place for All Vehicles

A new light shines through the night on Bloomington’s west side—the outdoor sign at Dunn’s RevSports, 2479 West Industrial Park Drive, a 14,000-square-foot facility selling parts and services for cars, SUVs, motorcycles, ATVs, and UTVs.

Third Eye Design: Creator of Restaurant Interiors

When Allyson Powell embarks on a commercial design project, she likes to fully immerse herself.

ReBoot: The Mill’s Program for Once-Incarcerated Entrepreneurs

Starting a business can be a challenging endeavor for anyone, but for formerly incarcerated individuals, it can be an even steeper climb.

Caveat Emptor Bookstore: Still Here After 50 Years

Caveat Emptor, the used and rare bookstore on the downtown Square, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, but it almost didn’t make it to the half-century mark.

Waggin Water: For Dogs on the Go

The idea for Waggin Water grew out of necessity, says founder Drew Whited. A Bloomington native who was living in Chicago at the time, Whited was often on the road with his dog Mickey, a long-haired Chihuahua.

The Schwartzmans of BuffaLouie’s: A Community-Minded Couple

As partners in love, parenting, and business, Ed and Jaimie Schwartzman share almost everything—including their sense of gratitude. “We always say, ‘God bless our broken road,’ because our road has twists and turns in it, and we couldn’t be happier,” Jaimie says.

Bloomingfoods at Age 45: 13,000 Members Strong

In July 1976, a community buying club set up shop in a carriage house- turned-garage in the alley behind Tracks Records on East Kirkwood.

The Uptown Cafe: A Bloomington Icon Since 1976

Michael Cassady supported himself through earning a political science degree at Indiana University by cooking, and at age 26 was still at it when his roommate asked, “When are you going to stop working for other people?”

Three B-town Tech Startups Win Funding From The Mill Initiative

An app that helps nonprofits track volunteers, a social networking platform for people in show business, and an app that reminds college students to do their assignments.

Grant Street Inn: Fate of Iconic B&B Still Uncertain

The staff at the Grant Street Inn, Bloomington’s historical 40-room bed and breakfast, still remembers when the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg stayed there.

David Howard: Renaissance Man on the Move

To use a juggling metaphor, David Howard is a guy who keeps a lot of plates spinning.
His latest project is Alley Works, a new apartment building with a restaurant complex at the former Yellow Cab site on 6th Street, west of the downtown Square.

Business Team-Building Occurring in the Kitchen

While team-building exercises may conjure up images of “trust falls” gone bad, the Bloomington Cooking School (BCS) has something a little more appetizing.

Money Matters: Enlist Local Expertise When Starting a Business

Business ownership is heavily romanticized thanks to legends of billionaires who started their companies in garages. While those are interesting stories, they are by no means the norm.