Two years after acknowledging its sesquicentennial, Schererville remains in a festive and celebratory mood.
Named after the German-born settler Nicholas Scherer, the town of nearly 30,000 in St. John Township is rich in history and cultural activity. Spending a day here recently brought out the depth and diversity.
Morning
A great breakfast is the surest path to a strong day, and the low-key and charming Toast & Jam (7311 Mallard Lane, 219-769-0000, toastandjamcafe.com) is exemplary. Breakfast nachos are tasty, as are the mouth-watering range of omelets, including chicken, veggie, bacon and ham. The lunch offerings are also worth celebrating, like a Cajun or Portobello macaroni and cheese.
At Sky Zone (1035 Eagle Ridge Dr., 219-227-3777, www.skyzone.com/schererville), nothing is quite like dueling your friend at SkyJoust, a gladiator-style aerial bout that unfolds on pedestals atop a foam pit. That is the newest feature of this action packed trampoline park that gives its inhabits an opportunity to suspend in the air or find their own particular nirvana. Special party and group rates are available. It’s a chance to just unload and boost loose.
Munster-native Bobby Morris played nine years with the Cubs and three other major league teams. He drew on his professional experience and skills development to open the Morris Baseball and Softball Center (221 US-41 East, 219-227-5250, www.morriselitebaseball.com), a training and workout facility. Best of all, many of the instructors, like Morris, have played at the highest levels.
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Jak’s Warehouse (221 Indianapolis Blvd., 219-322-5257, www.jakswarehouse.com) is another indoor fun center that offers a wealth of games and activities, including laser tag and its variants. Jak’s proprietary game is called Laser Maze, and it combines hall of mirror effects with traditional laser tag as participants move through an elaborately designed maze.
The center also features rock climbing, an arcade room, and for those seeking a more propulsive kick, bumper cars and go-karts. Best of all, they stay open until 10 p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Afternoon
The Escape Room (830 Cedar Parkway, 219-595-9197, www.escaperoomnwi.com) is a fast-growing phenomenon. It plays on our desire to live our fantasies and effectively star in our own movie. The staff puts you in a room, teases out clues and tasks the groups with solving the various puzzles. The three variations involve getting released from a trapped room, finding a stolen Faberge egg or orchestrating a prison break. The format turns the players into active performers rather than passive watchers.
Rohrman Park (6750 Rohrman Road, 219-865-5530, www.schererville.org/rohrman-park/) offers the quiet and pastoral beauty of an intimate space. This 41-acre park is the largest around, including five soccer fields, three lit softball fields, a lighted baseball diamond and a one-mile asphalt trail.
The nearby Redar Memorial Park (217 Gregory St., 219-865-5530, www.schererville.org/peter-g-redar-memorial-park) is spread out over 10 acres and offers two basketball courts and a sand volleyball court.
Both parks are adjacent the Schererville Skate Park (Reiplinger Road and East Wilhelm Street, 219-865-5530, www.schererville.org/schererville-skate-park), an open space that utilizes 90-degree angled banks in order to facilitate the swooping and aerial drives the sport thrives on.
Do you have a naked desire to unfurl and dance, or want to learn the subtleties of the bolero rumba or foxtrot? Performance and instruction opportunities have flourished here. For instance, Second Street Dance Studio (121 E. Joliet St., 219-322-8381, www.secondstreetdance.com) specializes teaching the art of ballroom dancing.
Donna Brum Dancers (2334 Cline Ave., 219-865-9850, www.donnabrumdancers.com) starts its tap, ballet and tumbling program for kids as young as 4 and culls its most promising performers to compete in national competitions.
Fred Astaire Dance Studios (328 US-30, 219-515-6980, www.fredastaire.com/schererville) is a leading practitioner of the “American Style,” with an emphasis on the salsa, mambo, hustle and East and West Coast Swing. It also offers lessons in alternate styles such as the Viennese Waltz and the quickstep.
This is a food town and surprisingly varied. Named for the walled city in Hong Kong, Kowloon (730 Lincoln Hwy, 219-322-6238, facebook.com/Kowloon-156410017719986/) is an elegant, subtle room specializing in Chinese food, with strong notices for its sweet and sour pork, Kung Pao Chicken and wontons.
Evening
Teibel’s Family Restaurant (1775 US-41, 219-865-2000, www.teibels.com) began modestly and intimately as a 12-seat diner more than eight decades ago and has become an institution with its gloriously, almost baroque formal dining room and smaller scaled cafe, depending on your needs. The daily lunch specials, especially the carefully prepared fried chicken, were intoxicatingly good. It’s a throwback, from its exposed brick and the glass entrance doors to the classic shoehorn bar. Prepare to be wowed.
Entrepreneur Steven Martinez tapped into the craft beer movement when he and a group of local partners opened the Region Ale Tap House (1080 US-41, 219-322-2337, www.regionaletaphouse.com) in September 2016. As the name suggests, the focus is on local brewers, like the Munster-based 3 Floyds, the Chicago-set Maplewood or the Michigan City concern Zorn. The food is also excellent. The attractive space is also used for weekend live music and special events. It makes for an unbeatable combination.
In this sports mad community, Longshots (2251 US-41, 219-322-0080, www.facebook.com/LongshotsSchererville) fits a clear need. With its bank of high-definition televisions running parallel along the bar, this lively and open space seems particularly suited to visitors and travelers eager to get a feel for the town and bond over the fate of the Cubs or Sox. The Foosball tables, dartboards and video jukebox contribute to a place buzzing with activity and possibilities.
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For late night options, Social 219 (2350 Cline Ave., 219-322-3060, www.socialtwoonenine.com) sets the local template of what is possible. Serving until 3 a.m., the sports bar, restaurant and live music venue features an eclectic menu that moves naturally from the familiar like burgers to more ambitious fare like wraps, seafood, or house specials, the most appealing and surprising choice is the skinless sausage, Cevapi, a traditional Serbian dish.
The beer selection is also deep and varied. For the sports fan, the band of high-definition monitors positioned at the center of the bar creates a 3-D effect. The live music acts include the Philadelphia hard-core group, Eaten Alive.
