Hey Locals,

Just in time for summer, Tall Rabbit coffee shop on Calhoun Street is building a new parklet with outdoor seating. Now, the city says more Downtown businesses should consider following suit. We share why in Briefs.

We also update you on North River, and offer fun ways to kickstart your Memorial Day weekend celebrations – especially if you're sticking around town.

*Reminder: We've been on vacation this week and have a shorter-than-usual issue.

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Now, let's get started!

NOTE: Links to Journal Gazette articles are marked(*) and may be behind a paywall.

• Tall Rabbit coffee shop is transforming underutilized parking space into outdoor seating – and the city wants more businesses to do the same. Tall Rabbit, which is a social enterprise of Blue Jacket, privately funded the parklet at its South Calhoun Street cafe, which is expected to open in about two weeks. It will provide the coffee shop with additional seating and greenery protected from traffic by concrete barriers. To create the parklet, Tall Rabbit worked with the City of Fort Wayne's Right of Way department, which tells WANE 15 they would like more businesses to consider parklets – especially Downtown. Parklets rose to national prominence during the pandemic, and a study in Philadelphia found they can boost business revenue by up to 20%. This helps cities, too, by bringing in more revenue (than parking), via taxes. More parkelts (and fewer parking spaces) also improves foot traffic, and if you're worried about where to park, Downtown already has more than enough options!
• North River debate continues, and last week, the Redevelopment Commission narrowly approved hiring a Utah-based consulting firm for the project. WANE 15 covered how the commission voted 3-2 in favor of hiring Victus Advisors for up to 12 months and $99K to help city leaders select a developer for the site – which has recently received purchase offers from prominent local businessmen, including Chuck Surack and Daryle Doden. Two commissioners (City Councilman Nathan Hartman and Tom Didier) voted against the move, with Didier suggesting the city reconsider Doden and Surack's $12M offer. The city purchased North River for $3M, and Didier made the case that their proposed fieldhouse project alone could cost $60M and underperform – especially since there's no guarantee it will be booked for tournaments (whereas Parkview Field has a guaranteed 70 home games annually). This brings up an interesting question: Did Parkview Field create too much confidence in Downtown development? For now, the city says it's still not selling North River, and it plans to proceed with hiring a developer with input from Victus. It may (eventually) sell the site to that developer, but Surack and Doden have argued the city should keep the profits local by selling it to them instead.

Plus: new high-wage jobs on the horizon, plans for the Treeline District and more. We cover it all in our premium newsletter!

• Attend: the Grand Opening of Legendary Barber Lounge and Juice Bar at 118 West Washington Blvd. on May 24, with live DJs, food, juice samples and discounts – all starting with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Sharon Tucker at 9 a.m.
• Watch: a movie at the newly reopened Auburn-Garrett Drive-In, which has been closed for about two years due to storm damage in 2022. Last weekend, the drive-in reopened with showings of “Thunderbolts” and “Captain America: Brave New World.”
• Laugh: along to local stand-up comedy at The Fairfield, May 21, 7-10 p.m., in the Barrel Room. The Fairfield is also hosting several regular events, including biweekly Open Mic Nights with local musicians on Mondays, 7-10 p.m.

What else? We share more things to do in our premium newsletter.

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Have a great week, Locals!

-Your Editor, Kara Hackett