Joseph S. Pete
A caller to Wisconsin sports radio told the host that the former East Chicago Washington High School and Milwaukee Bucks basketball star Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman must have fallen on hard times because she saw him flipping burgers while she was in the drive-through at a Wendy's.
Bridgeman owned that Wendy's and was just starting to build the business empire that would eventually make him one of the few former pro athletes to become a billionaire and one of the most successful businesspeople to ever emerge from Northwest Indiana.
Bridgeman died Tuesday at 71.
"Once you get into fast-food ownership, you do everything. You cook the burgers, you clean the bathrooms, you do it all," said his lifelong friend Curtis Phillips, who had known him since kindergarten in East Chicago's Indiana Harbor neighborhood. "He had the success he did because he had smart business sense and because of his personality, his demeanor and the relationships he built outside of professional athletics. Having been as successful as he was with the Wendy's restaurants, that gave him entry into other opportunities. That's how he built his business."
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Friends and former classmates who recall him playing pickup basketball in Sunnyside Park in the Harbor remember Bridgeman as hard-working, intelligent and personable. They said the son of a steelworker was motivated to be successful in life but maintained his Region roots, such as by returning for the 50th anniversary of the East Chicago Washington class of 1971 and giving a talk to the Gary Chamber of Commerce.
"Junior’s passing hit me like a bolt of lightning. So sudden. I knew him from the playground pick-up basketball," Gary Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chuck Hughes said. "When I reached out to him and explained to him the purpose of the Lakeshore Classic and its benefit to student-athletes he consented on the spot to come and speak, especially when I told him that his beloved East Chicago team was participating. From the moment he flew into the Gary Airport, he was our Northwest Indiana hero."
Bridgeman, Philips and Slavka Sucevic referred to themselves as the trio, having gone to school from the first day of kindergarten through the end of high school together. They started at Franklin Elementary School and were selected together for an advanced academic class at Washington Elementary School near Washington High School.
"He was gentle in the best sense. He was a good friend. If you needed him for anything, all you had to do was ask and he'd have your back," Sucevic said. "He was highly intelligent. People don't remember that because he was such a basketball star. There was just something about him. He had a quality and a really good heart. His niceness was so true, which is why so many people are crushed by his sudden death."
Bridgeman was quick to smile and laugh and had a good sense of humor, she said. He made Washington and the Indiana Harbor neighborhood proud by helping the Senators win the state championship during the undefeated 1971 season and by going on to lead the Louisville Cardinals to the Final Four, she said.
"He came from humble beginnings and that motivated him," she said. "He helped so many people down the road and paid it forward."
Bridgeman was considered one of the greatest sixth men in NBA history during his 10 years with the Bucks after he was drafted by the Lakers and traded with three other players for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He made his fortune, which Forbes just estimated to be $1.4 billion, after retiring from the league and going on to own Wendy's, Pizza Hut and Chili's restaurants, as well as a Coca-Cola bottling company and Ebony and Jet magazines.
Forbes says that Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Tiger Woods are the only other pro athletes to become billionaires.
Phillips had known him since they were 5 years old. They used to walk to school together every day and stayed in touch over the years.
"He was a smart kid and a great guy," he said. "He was athletic and he was kind to everybody."
He, Bridgeman and other friends made a bond that they would go on to be successful in life.
"We were all successful, though obviously not as successful as him," he said. "We were good students who pushed each other or as my wife would say, nerds. But we were smart nerds, cool nerds."
Bridgeman was known as a basketball player but was well-rounded, playing clarinet and saxophone in band, he said. He served as vice president of his junior and senior classes.
"Growing up in the Harbor, everyone's dad worked at the mills," he said. "We knew a better life was out there. We didn't know what that was, but we were willing to explore and try to find out. There was the life you led growing up and you just wanted more."
Phillips often played basketball in parks against Bridgeman over the years, watching his game develop over time. Always a great rebounder and defender, he for instance became a better shooter as he went on to college and the pros.
"It's funny because we played together so often you appreciate that somebody's good but are not in awe of them," he said. "He was a comrade in pickup ball but made the team and succeeded in performing at a high level."
His success on the court was huge for Washington because its crosstown rival East Chicago Roosevelt High School had won the state title during its undefeated 1970 season, Phillips said. Bridgeman and the other Washington seniors vowed to do the same in 1971 and they did.
"If you want a fight to break out, get together some East Chicago Roosevelt and Washington alums and ask who was the better team," he said. "Blood will be spilled."
Bridgeman was competitive but quiet and not a trash talker, Phillips said. He enjoyed his sixth man role with the Bucks, coming in and providing instant offense off the bench. He was on a young and talented team but one that never made it to the NBA Finals because they could not get past the Eastern Conference giants of that era: Larry Bird's Celtics and Dr. J's 76ers.
He would visit Phillips for dinner and to catch up after the game anytime he played in Cleveland, where Phillips was transferred for work.
Bridgeman ended up going into business after talking to Bucks owner Herb Kohl and starting to read the Wall Street Journal every day, Phillips said.
"He just aspired to be a successful businessperson but didn't limit himself to owning, say, just 20 restaurants," he said. "When you're successful, other opportunities come your way. He believed in hard work and the success was a byproduct of what he was doing. It wasn't the destination. It was the trip."
Bridgeman was a humble man of God who made many charitable contributions, Phillips said.
"He had a good business sense but was still that guy I used to walk to school with," he said. "The Harbor shaped us. It instilled the value of hard work. He worked at automotive plants during summers at the University of Louisville and I worked at Inland when I was home from Purdue in the summer. You were just expected to do that. It was drilled into you at an early age. He was taught about hard work, and he was smart. It gives you a leg up."
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Jet's Pizza and vegan restaurant open; Chase Bank closes; Crown Point Toys and Collectibles moves
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The Region is of course swimming in Chicago-style deep dish, but the trendy Detroit-style deep dish is less common outside of the approximately 40 billion Little Caesars in Northwest Indiana.
A Detroit chain is going to bring the square-cut Detroit-style deep dish that was allegedly first baked in a tin from an automotive factory and that's a staple at places like Buddy's Pizza, Belle Isle Pizza and Detroit Style Pizza Company.
Jet's Pizza, which sells its trademarked eight-corner pizza as well as traditional round pizzas, is coming to the Tri-Town. The suburban Detroit-based chain is moving to 332 Indianapolis Boulevard in the Shoppes on the Boulevard.
It's taking over the former Tzatziki Greek Street Food location. It was the only vacant space in a strip center that's also home to McAlister's Deli and Sport Clips.
Jet's Pizza's only other Northwest Indiana location is at 1613 E. 37th Ave. in Hobart, which opened earlier this year. Joseph S. Pete
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The pizza chain plans to start construction immediately and open within a few months.
“I’m excited to see Jet’s Pizza coming into Schererville," said Brett McDermott of Latitude Commercial, a leading commercial real estate firm that represented the landlord in the transaction. “The unit was already built-out as a restaurant, so the franchisee is able to utilize some of the infrastructure in place. They will be a great tenant for the center and the community will really enjoy their Detroit-style pizza."
Founded in 1978 in Sterling Heights, Michigan, it has since expanded to more than 400 locations in 21 states, bringing in $500 million in revenue last year. In addition to its signature Detroit-style deep dish, it also has hand- tossed, thin crust and New York City-style pizzas, as well as cauliflower and gluten-free crusts. Flavors include BLT, BBQ chicken, Aloha BBQ chicken, bacon chicken ranch and Hawaiian. Joseph S. Pete
Moving
Moving
Crown Point Toys and Collectibles has been planning to move from downtown Crown Point to a bigger space with more parking.
The retro toy store closed on a deal acquiring 1191 E. Summit St. in Crown Point. It is growing from a 1,800-square-foot space across from the Crown Point Community Library just north of the Old Lake County Courthouse Square to a 4,000-square-foot space north of downtown, which will allow it to expand its operations and inventory.
Crown Point Toys & Collectibles opened at 103 N. Main St. in downtown Crown Point in 2020.
The toy reseller has seen growing demand for its nostalgic products, including many toy lines from the 1980s and 1990s. It caters as much to adults as to kids with vintage brands like Marvel, Star Wars, He-Man, G.I. Joe and Funko Pop!
It will move about a half mile north. Owner Tom Waddell said the store will have more space and a larger back area so it will be able to better organize its inventory and increase its selection of products like Funko Pop!, comic books and video games.
Crown Point-based Latitude Commercial represented the buyer while Joel Henderson of McColly Bennett represented the seller.
“The buyer had been searching for a larger location in Crown Point for quite some time. Upon spotting a ‘For Lease’ sign during a drive, I immediately contacted Joel to explore the possibility of a purchase," McDermott said. "Two weeks later, we were under contract, paving the way for CP Toys to find their perfect new home.” John J. Watkins, The Times
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The vegan restaurant Cuané is now cooking plant-based cuisine in Michigan City.
Billing itself as Michigan City's first vegan restaurant, Cuané at 1601 E. Michigan Blvd. specializes in American-style vegan comfort food such as burgers, shakes and desserts. It aims "to combat the inaccessibility of delicious vegan food options."
Restaurant owner DaWanna McCray grew up in Michigan City and went vegan in 2017. She would go out with her friends to friends and find little on the menu for her other than salads.
"Times have gotten better over the years," he said. "But after there was nothing for me to eat I thought why keep complaining and that I should build something to fill that void. This is coming out of that void. It's a void for me personally and there are no other vegan restaurants in Michigan City. Lots of people travel to Chicago."
She named the restaurant after her mother who she lost to cancer and her brother who she lost to gun violence.
The menu includes many vegan versions of cuisine carnivores love. It for instance has a cheeseburger and double cheeseburger with Beyond Burger plant-based patties designed to taste and bleed like ground beef, as well as vegan cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, mustard and vegan mayo.
The restaurant also serves vegan versions of the chicken sandwich, the Chicago hot dog, the New York hot dog and the American hot dog, as well as a Beyond sausage with caramelized onions and Cuané sauce. Sides include French fries and salads.
One can have vegan cookies or cupcakes for dessert and wash down the food with lemonade, coffee or vegan milkshakes.
"I wanted a fully vegan restaurant where people felt they were going to a barbecue," she said. "I wanted people to be able to go out and get what they would typically eat, like hot dogs at a ballgame."
It seats about 20 diners. She hopes to expand the menu and eventually add new locations.
"I'd like to expand to different cities that don't have a vegan restaurant in the area," she said.
The Michigan City Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the restaurant from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 11. The restaurant will offer 10% off that day.
Focusing on lunch and breakfast, the restaurant is open from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For more information, call 219-210-3282 or visit cuane.com. Joseph S. Pete
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Boba Tea and Coffee opened at 8317 Calumet Ave. in Munster, serving up the trendy bubble tea that's long been popular in Asia and has caught on in the United States.
It offers bubble tea in a variety of flavors including green tea, oolong tea, black tea, matcha tea and fresh fruit tea. The menu also includes rolled ice cream, coffee, frappes, yogurt, fresh milk and milk tea.
Ice cream flavors include Nutella, Banana, Oreo, Fruit Lover and Summer Tango. Teas include Strawberry Oolong Tea, Crush Peach Black Tea, Peach Orange Lemongrass Black Tea, Tropical Fruit Green Tea, Tropical Fruit Oolong Tea, Honeydew Green Apple Oolong Tea, Grapefruit Jasmine Green Tea, Navel Orange Jasmine Green Tea, Kiwi Jasmine Green Tea, Happy Tea, Lychee Black Tea and Pomegranate Black Tea.
Owner Bach “Andy” Pham bought the 10,000-square-foot building and opened The Boba Tea Cafe, B Nail Lounge and Viet-Ship. The latter allows people to go into the Boba Tea Cafe and ship money or packages to Vietnam.
For more information, call 219-999-7997. Dreamstime/TNS
Closing
Closing
Chase Bank is closing its branch in Lake Station.
The New York City-based bank will close its office at 3115 Central Ave. in Lake Station on Aug. 15.
Chase Bank has long had a large presence in the Region after acquiring Bank One, which had previously acquired Gainer Bank, which was long known as Gary National Bank before it moved its headquarters to Merrillville. It was once the largest bank by market share in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties but was surpassed by Centier Bank after closing several branches.
It's been shrinking its footprint nationwide along with many other banks in response to the migration to online and digital banking. Joseph S. Pete
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Orthopedic and Balance Therapy Specialists just celebrated a grand opening for its new location at 1431 S. Lakepark Ave. in Hobart.
The chain, which has been named to The Times Best in the Region list for four years running, also has locations in Highland, LaPorte, Valparaiso and Crown Point. It aims to grow to 50 locations by 2026.
It specializes in treating pain, injury and discomfort, helping with healing and pain relief.
For more information, visit orthopedicandbalancetherapy.com or call 219-945-3269. Joseph S. Pete
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Harvey Furniture Plus at 16330 Halsted St. in south suburban Harvey signed up as a U-Haul dealer.
It will now offer customers U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, support rental items and in-store pickup for boxes. One of the largest moving services in the country, U-Haul has a network of 21,000 dealers. Joseph S. Pete
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Mi Tierra closing after 22 years; La Carreta, Flako's Tacos, Wendy's, Bulldog Ale House, WhoaZone, The Love of Arts…
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