The trampoline park was developed by Ninja Kidz TV, a hugely popular YouTube channel with more than 20.7 million subscribers. The family-friendly channel features the exploits of four kids who were raised in a martial arts studio, earned black belts and became competitive gymnasts. They make ninja and ninja racing videos that aim to teach young viewers ninjutsu skills and inspire them.

A sample video is entitled “Ninja Kidz vs. Monster: Who Will Win?” (Spoiler: Not the monster.)

Ninja Kidz Action Park is located in Kube Sports Complex at 2825 J.F. Mahoney Drive, just off the Kennedy Avenue exit on the Borman Expressway. It replaced the Air Kube jump park in the $7.5 million Kube Sports Complex. The 94,000-square-foot hockey arena by Dowling Park is home to the Purdue University Northwest, Bishop Noll Institute and Munster High School hockey teams, as well as club and youth hockey teams, figure skating classes and open skates for the general public.

Aimed at diversifying the Business beyond the largely seasonal activities of ice hockey and skating, Ninja Kidz Action Park features more than 20 attractions, including trampolines, gymnastic tumble tracks, aerial silks, slides, virtual reality ball and dodgeball. There are slides, jousting and bouncy basketball courts that let kids soar to the rim. It’s also got birthday party rooms and concessions.

The ninja-themed business currently has locations in Hammond and Dallas. It’s planning to expand to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and New York City.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott plans to be on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Oct. 10.

It’s open from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

For more information, call 219-426-4108​ or visit www.ninjakidzchicago.com.

Chef Gaetano Ascione, a native of Italy who has run restaurants and hotels on four continents and was named a finalist for Chef of the Year at the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore, plans to bring international fare to Munster.

He’s the chef behind Fiori Italian, which will open in late fall in half of the former True BBQ and Whiskey Bar. The Italian restaurant will blend traditional Italian cuisine with more modern flavors.

Progressive Dining Group, which is behind Gino’s Prime & Surf, NISI Greek Taverna, Bullpen Luxury Bar, True BBQ, Longshots Sports Bar, Public Bar & Rec, Cheese Almighty, Gelsosomo’s Pizza and Riviera Maya, is launching its latest concept at 8940 Calumet Ave. with a chef-driven menu by Ascione.

It’s being billed as an “excuse to skip the drive to Chicago.”

“With extremely simple and innovative ideas, we offer traditional recipes revisited in a contemporary way, keeping the sense, colors, textures and taste intact without the use of additives or preservatives,” he said. “Our cooking is a collision of ideas, techniques and culture. It is not mathematical; it is emotional.” 

Fiori Italian will seat 185 diners, offer al fresco dining and have a 50-seat private room Il Gardino for receptions. It will host gatherings like wine tastings, champagne and canape receptions, celebrations and business functions.

Ascione is fluent in five languages and has done business in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. A member of Chaine de Rotisseurs, the American Culinary Federation and the Gruppo Virtuale Cuochi Italiani, he was involved with two two-star Michelin Restaurants in Cannes, France: the former La Belle Otero at the Carlton Hotel and La Palm D‘or at the Hotel Martinez.

He’s worked at the Tanglin Club in Singapore; the NATO Allied Officers Club in Naples, Italy; the Paradise Beach Hotel and Casino in Busan, South Korea; and the Palace Hotel and Casino in Sun City, South Africa. He served as chef de cuisine at the Georgetown Club in Washington, D.C., for presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and also was the executive chef for the inaugural banquet for President Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

Fiori Italian will share the space with True Eats & Drinks Bar, a reimagining and refreshing of the True BBQ concept. It will have a casual but elegant menu that includes smoked barbecue, charcuterie and artisan pizza. It also will serve cocktails, champagne and wine in a “casual yet sophisticated space” that will cater to both the pre-dinner crowd and those seeking nightlife.

Both restaurants are undergoing renovations and are slated to open in late fall.

El Timon Tacos Tequila & Bar has come to Merrillville, billing itself as “Merrillville’s newest and most exciting upscale Mexican restaurant.”

It took over the space previously occupied by Jelly’s Pancakes and, most recently, The Social Restaurant. It’s located at 399 E. 81st Ave. in Merrillville, just off U.S. 30 by Portillo’s and the long-shuttered Century Mall.

The restaurant was opened by Venni Valle, who opened Veleros Mexican Restaurant in Valparaiso. The upscale eatery, which specializes in fresh seafood, won over a following in the Merrillville area.

So Valle decided to open a second restaurant there and named it El Timon to differentiate it.

The expansive menu includes a lobster burrito, langosta and shrimp, lamb tacos, lamb cazuela, corvina taocs, shrimp cocktail, chapuzon, camarones a la diabla, Baja Mahi Mahi tacos, barbacoa, coconut shrimp, mezcal pipian fish, tampiquena and vegetarian tacos. It has a full bar with micheladas, margaritas, Bloody Marys, mojitos, cocktails, champagne, sangria, whiskeys, white wines and imported Mexican cervezas.

It also serves brunch from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays with items like lobster benedict, salmon benedict, lobster skillet, lamb barbacoa skillet, a shrimp omelet, skirt steak and chicken and waffles.

El Timon is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call 219-525-4378 or visit eltimonmexican.com.

Wilhelmina’s Home Decor & Art Boutique is selling home decor, event decorations and works by local artists and artisans in Valparaiso.

The home goods and art boutique opened late last year at 829 E Lincolnway.

It stocks locally sourced products, including handmade cards, dolls, coffee mugs, cutting boards and purses. It makes seasonal changes to products to keep its inventory fresh, for instance now stocking plaid pumpkins and Halloween houses.

Wilhelmina’s Home Decor offers home staging design services, as well as wedding, reception and party decorations. It has paintings, wreathes, garden gnomes and the occasional artist reception.

It’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

For more information, visit wilhelminasdecor.com or call 219-405-2319.

A new Casey’s convenience store and gas station just opened on Indianapolis Boulevard near Cabela’s in Hammond.

The pit stop is located at 7920 Indianapolis Blvd., just off the busy Borman Expressway near the Super Walmart, Little Calumet River and Highland border. It’s part of an Iowa-based chain that was founded in 1968 and has grown to more than 2,400 locations. 

In addition to all the pop, snacks and lottery tickets one would expect, Casey’s serves sandwiches, hot breakfast and its popular pizza, which it also delivers. Especially popular in rural areas, Casey’s was the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States in 2021 in spite of only being in 16 states. 

It has locations all across Northwest Indiana, including in Dyer, Griffith, Crown Point, Valparaiso, Hebron, Lowell, Remington, DeMotte and Wheatfield. 

Casey’s is open from 5 a.m. to midnight daily.

Salvage+ shuttered its Schererville location back in June.

The locally owned overstock furniture store moved from Dyer to 815 Willowbrook Drive in 2018. It was located in the 160,000-square-foot Boulevard Square strip mall at the site of the former Menards on Indianapolis Boulevard in Schererville, along with Kali Beauty, Planet Fitness, the Sky Zone Trampoline Park, Last Chance Overstock, Region Ale Tap House and Up Your Alley.

The 30,000-square-foot store was laid out like a warehouse and crammed with merchandise. It carried refinished and new furniture like tables, couches, bookcases, credenzas, lamps, mattresses and wall art.

The space has risen from the dead to become a Spirit Halloween, the great reanimator of zombie retail spaces.

Munster Plaza was sold for $2.12 million. 

McCookman, LLC bought the 20,105-square-foot retail plaza on Ridge Road and Hohman Avenue in Munster. It’s anchored by a Papa John’s and is near the Munster South Shore train station that’s now under construction.

Latitude Commercial President Aaron McDermott represented both the buyer and the seller in the deal.