NWI Business Ins and Outs: Royale with Cheese, Top of the Morning, Casa Blanca, Estella’s Cantina, El Jimador, Jet's Pizza, Wingstop and Wing Snob opening (2024)

The hip counter-serve burger joint Royale with Cheese has supersized its space.

The burger restaurant, inspired by the famous conversation between the hitmen Jules and Vincent about the "little differences" in French McDonald's and Europe in general in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," moved to 110 W. 9th St. It's about half a block from its old Franklin Street location, where Chef Joe Farina plans to open Rocco's Tavern, which will serve oysters, steaks, chops and burgers.

The alleged name for a Quarter Pounder at McDonald's in France, where the pound is a foreign concept because of the metric system, Royale with Cheese moved into the 3,100-square-foot space previously occupied by Agave Mansion.

The restaurant specializes in gourmet burgers like the Melt Royale, the Caprese, The Mexi, The Pina and the Basic B. For a surcharge, diners can add an egg or bacon, or swap in a gluten-free bun or Impossible Patty. Non-burger options include a grilled cheese, a vegan sandwich, chicky bites, The Colonel chicken sandwich, a caprese salad, a chicken balsam salad and a chicken Caesar salad. Sides include fresh-cut fries, ghetto fries, street corn, onion rings and fried green beans.

Royale with Cheese has been a popular dining destination since it opened in Michigan City's Uptown Arts District in 2018, and it expanded to LaPorte last year.

It offers burgers of the week like the A1 Burger with smoked gouda, crispy onions, bacon and A1 sauce. They often draw inspiration from Bob's Burgers, which often plays on television in the background.

Royale with Cheese pours Seattle's Jones Soda, an alternative pop with unorthodox flavors like Green Apple, Blue Bubble Gum and Bacon.

Royale with Cheese is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call 219-243-7106 or visit royale-llc.square.site.

Coming soon

The new Top of the Morning breakfast and lunch restaurant will soon open in Gary's Miller neighborhood.

Owners Jennifer Smith and Shalana Reed, who are sisters, are hoping to open in the next few weeks after passing an inspection.

Top of the Morning specializes in southern breakfasts like skillets, shrimp and grits, stuffed French toast with a cream cheese filling, southern biscuits, hash browns, bacon and eggs and chicken and waffles. For lunch it will serve Cajun chicken pasta, Cajun salmon pasta, catfish and grits and sandwiches like a brisket with gouda and a grown-up grilled cheese.

"We'll have a small seating area but most of our items can be handheld or pick-up-and-go," she said. "We're excited to get open as soon as possible."

Smith said she and her sister were inspired by her grandmother.

"We would help her with breakfast," she said. "We would cook her bacon. We would get her eggs ready. We were cooking as early as 7 and 8 years old. Our family is from Mississippi and New Orleans. We love a good southern breakfast. We wanted to bring that to the area of Gary."

The restaurant is located in the new 12,000-square-foot Harvest Square Strip Mall at 875 S. Lake St., which the Beyond 4 Walls Christian Center developed at the intersection of South Lake Street and U.S. 12.

"I love this location because it's new. We're revitalizing this area. We're being part of a larger community with the church right across the way, so the support is there," she said. "We're brand new business owners. We want to be part of a community that's growing and wanting to thrive with us."

Top of the Morning offers homecooked meals and treats customers like they're at home, Smith said.

"This is me and my sister's first venture," she said. "We are excited to grow with the community. We're ready to get your breakfast going. We're just excited for people to come in and try us out."

The restaurant will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and then from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

For more information, find Top of the Morning on Facebook or Instagram or visit topofthemorningcafe.com.

Open

The iconic Casa Blanca restaurant in downtown East Chicago has fully reopened as an eatery after closing during the pandemic and then limiting its focus to being an events venue, closing down except for banquet rentals.

The landmark Mexican eatery at4616 Indianapolis Blvd. dates back to the 1970s. It's known for its extravagant pink and white dining room that's decked out like a Spanish Courtyard.

The large restaurant has long been a destination for dining and weddings, quinceaneras, First Communions, birthdays, parties, luncheons and other special events. The palatial white house has a rustic interior with ornate ceilings and grand arches.

The menu includes Bistec Con Rajas Y Queso, Carne Asada, fajitas, Tampiquena, Camarones Al Gusto, Ceviche Mariscos Mango Habanero, prawns, Pasta Con Mariscos, Pulpo Al Gusto, a chicken burrito dinner, Enchiladas Calvillo, Enchiladas Rojas and Pollo Casa Blanca.

It also serves breakfast like Chilaquiles Con Huevo, Huevos a la Mexicana, Huevos con Chorizo and Huevos con Jamon.

Casa Blanca is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Coming soon

A new Mexican restaurant and watering hole is coming to downtown Miller Beach.

Estella’s Cantina is coming to 615 S. Lake St., a spot next to Lake Street Gallery in Gary's lakefront neighborhood.

The cantina will offer tequila, mezcal, tacos, beer and aqua frescas. It will be a short stroll down the street from Tacos and Tequila for anyone looking to barhop in search of cerveza.

Open

El Jimador Mexican Cusine took over a spot in downtown Griffith that's been home to a few different Mexican restaurants in recent years.

The local chain recently opened another location at 216 S. Broad St., just south of the busy intersection of Main and Broad Streets near the Erie Lackawanna Trail.

El Jimador also has locations in Merrillville, Hobart, Cedar Lake, Crown Point and Porter, where it took over the longtime Santiago’s restaurant.

Then restaurant specializes in traditional Mexican fair like tacos, tortas, fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, flautas, sopes, tamales, gorditas and chile relleno. Appetizer options include guacamole, nachos and queso fundido.

El Jimador is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, call 219-209-5129 or find the business on Facebook.

Open

Jet's Pizza is now serving Detroit-style deep dish in Hammond.

The Sterling Heights, Michigan-based chain opened its latest Region location at 7943 Indianapolis Blvd, Hammond. It's also working to open a location a few miles down the road on Indianapolis Boulevard in Schererville, and in Valparaiso.

The chain makes the Detroit-style deep dish pizza that Buddy's Pizza invented in 1946 by baking pizza in an automotive drip pan used to hold tools at a nearby auto plant, a process that caramelizes the cheese along the crust. It's a trendy pizza style that's served at restaurants around the country, including Culinary Misfits and Carriage Court in Crown Point, Northside Tap in Valparaiso and the flagship Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks.

Jet's Pizza dates back to 1978 and has grown to more than 450 locations. It's known for deep dish, including the eight-corner pizza that's actually two rectangular pizzas so that every piece is a crust piece. It also has hand-tossed, thin crust and New York City-style pizzas with flavors like BLT, BBQ chicken, Aloha BBQ chicken, bacon chicken ranch and Hawaiian.

Jet's Pizza is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, call 219-339-5387 or visit jetspizza.com.

Open

Wingstop is now cooking up chicken wings in Hammond.

The Buffalo wing-themed restaurant opened at 7149 Indianapolis Blvd. in Hammond's Woodmar neighborhood. It also has locations in downtown Hammond and Hammond's Marina District by the Chicago border.

Headquartered in suburban Dallas, the 1940s aviation-themed restaurant has chicken wings, chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches. It offers a number of sauces that get increasingly spicy.

The chain also has restaurants in Lansing, Highland, Merrillville, Gary and Hobart. It now has more than 1,800 locations, adding 400 last year alone through franchising.

Wingstop is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

For more information, call 219-332-2334.

Open

Wing Snob opened earlier this year in south suburban Matteson.

The Detroit-based fast-casual restaurant that specializes in Buffalo Wings opened at 4704 Lincoln Highway in Matteson.

Wing Snob has traditional, boneless and cauliflower wings. It coats its wings and French fries in a number of sauces and rubs like Buffalo, honey BBQ, lemon pepper, Cajun, Nashville Hot, Jamaican Jerk, Sweet Heat, Hot AF and Tostitos Chili Cheese. The menu also includes chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, beyond tenders, sweet corn, street corn, corn bread, veggies and pretzels and cheese.

The chain has been growing rapidly due to franchising.

For more information, visit www.wingsnob.com or call 708-919-9464.

Open

Protein Bar & Kitchen just opened its first Indiana location in Crown Point.

The Chicago-based chain, which has been supplying healthy fare since opening in a small storefront in the Loop in 2009, opened at122 E. 109th Ave. in Crown Point's booming Beacon Hill commercial district. It's Protein Bar's first drive-thru restaurant as it looks to expand its footprint into the suburbs.

Protein Bar Crown Point is offering more than 100 giveaways through Aug. 31, including memberships toAnytime Fitness, Orangetheory, Basecamp, F45, STRIDE, Sweat 219 and other fitness clubs around the Region. Customers who spend at least $10 there get a raffle entry that could nab them a prize like a Protein Bar Shake Pass.

The restaurant offers protein shakes and bowls with flavors like Japanese BBQ Salmon, Buffalo, Black Bean, a Spinach and Pesto and Mexicali. It also has breakfast scrambles, acai bowls, parfaits, soups, quinoa chicken chili and wraps it calls barritos.