Business

James Briggs
Jun 1, 2023 - Politics
Market Street

Bill Oesterle's costly, legacy-defining RFRA fight

Bill Oesterle speaks at an outdoor lectern in 2015 surrounded by other Indianapolis leaders.

Bill Oesterle discusses the Religious Freedom Restoration Act outside the City-County Building in March 2015. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

Welcome to the first edition of Market Street, a column on politics and power, named to reference the line between the Statehouse and City-County Building.

Long before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney waged war over LGBTQ+ issues, Bill Oesterle fired the first shots.

James Briggs
May 30, 2023 - News

Gas prices are way down

Data: GasBuddy; Note: Price as of the 1st of each month; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: GasBuddy; Note: Price as of the 1st of each month; Chart: Axios Visuals

School is out, we've had our first three-day weekend and you know what that means: It's unofficially, officially summer vacation season.

Why it matters: Time to go road trippin'!

James Briggs
May 23, 2023 - Business

Circle Centre's profit gets in the way of change

Circle Centre mall made $4.3 million in 2022 amid an exodus of retailers including H&M. Photo: James Briggs/Axios

Circle Centre Mall hauled in millions of dollars last year, a paradoxical performance that illustrates why the dying shopping center has meandered toward redevelopment for the better part of a decade.

Driving the news: Circle Centre recorded a $4.3 million profit last year, even as the pandemic dealt a knockout blow to a swath of tenants, per a financial report issued to the city.

James Briggs
May 19, 2023 - Business

Tinker Coffee makes a statement with downtown cafe

The Tinker Coffee logo on a window outside the new cafe in the 360 Market Square tower.

Tinker Coffee Co. is open in a former Starbucks location in the 360 Market Square tower. Photo: James Briggs/Axios

A growing coffee company is placing a big bet on downtown Indianapolis.

Driving the news: Tinker Coffee Co. is launching its largest cafe yet, offering pastries and drinks with menu categories ranging from approachable to adventurous.

Downtown Indy slower to recover from pandemic

Data: University of Toronto; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

Three years on, downtown Indianapolis is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing less than half the activity it once did.

  • That's according to anonymized mobile device connectivity data analyzed by researchers at the University of Toronto's School of Cities.
James Briggs
May 2, 2023 - Business

Indianapolis' favorite grocery stores

Data: Chain Store Guide; Note: Stores under the same brand name have been combined, e.g. Walmart and Walmart Supercenter; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: Chain Store Guide; Note: Stores under the same brand name have been combined, e.g. Walmart and Walmart Supercenter; Chart: Axios Visuals

A tumultuous decade in the Central Indiana grocery business has made little difference at the top of the food chain.

State of play: Kroger is the most popular grocery store chain in Indianapolis, with a 34.4% market share as of last year.

James Briggs
May 1, 2023 - Business

When the baby boomers and Gen X sell their homes

A blue house sits behind a fence with a for-sale sign in the yard.

Homes are hard to find, but Indiana University research shows there could be an abundance in the 2030s as older generations sell. Photo: Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Today's super-tight housing market might be masking an overabundance of homes on the horizon.

Driving the news: Demographic trends suggest we are in a "generational housing bubble," per research published by Indiana University's Phil Powell, a clinical associate professor, and Matt Kinghorn, a senior demographer.

James Briggs
Apr 7, 2023 - Business

6 independent bookstores around Indianapolis

A photo of the interior of Wild Geese Bookshop, showing shelves and tables of books.

Wild Geese Bookshop sells new books out of an old house in downtown Franklin. Photo: Tiffany Phillips/Wild Geese Bookshop

Barnes & Noble is enjoying a renaissance as people return to physical stores to buy hard copies of books. But that's far from the only brick-and-mortar option in town.

State of play: Central Indiana has a strong independent scene for book lovers. Here are six shops worth checking out within driving distance of Indianapolis.

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