"We're going back to our roots, back to our homeland," Yvonne Damjanovic said in a video posted to social media. Damjanovic owns Hub Bootery, and she was explaining why the shoe store is moving back to the old Lake County Courthouse square in downtown Crown Point.
Hub Bootery opened on the square in 1949. Seventy-seven years later, it's coming back the same month the city puts homemade coffin racers on Main Street for the first time. Neither change is huge by itself. Together, they mean much of Crown Point's October is happening within sight of the courthouse.
A Shoe Store Returns to the Block Where It Started
Since 2017, Hub Bootery has been at 1198 N. Main St., well north of downtown. That location closed Sept. 26 after a moving sale that sold off shoes, clothes, decor and even the store fixtures.
The owners' announcement was clearly written for longtime customers who might worry:
"After nine years here, it's time for a fresh start and a brand-new chapter. And before anyone panics… we are NOT leaving Crown Point! In fact, I think you're going to LOVE where Hub is headed."
The post went on to say the exact location and "a few other exciting details" would stay under wraps a little longer. As of the end of September, the store hasn't announced a street address. Damjanovic told The Times of Northwest Indiana she hopes to open at the new location around the second week of October. That's roughly two weeks from now.
She has also been clear about what she wants the move to bring back. She describes the store "when Barney, Mildred and John Dockus were behind the counter. The kind of place where you walked through the door and someone knew your name. Where customer service wasn't a policy. It was a relationship." She calls Hub a "sit-and-fit shoe store," and she says she wants children who shop there now to bring their own children in someday. If you've had kids fitted for school shoes at the North Main store, starting this fall that errand puts you on the square, near the other shops downtown.
October 24 Now Fills a Whole Afternoon on Main Street
The Pumpkin Walk is already a fixture. The City of Crown Point and the Crown Point Community Library run it as a free trick-or-treat around the downtown square, and this year it's on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In past years, families wrapped up at 1 p.m. and headed home.
This year, something new starts right when the Pumpkin Walk ends. The first Crown Point Coffin Cup begins at 1 p.m. in the downtown square, with teams pushing homemade coffin racers down a 100-yard course on Main Street. The city's calendar lists the race for the same date.
The city is organizing the race with First United Methodist Church of Crown Point, and every team races for a nonprofit. The Times reported these rules:
- Team size: six people, made up of four pushers, one alternate and one rider in the coffin
- Cost to enter: registration is free
- Speed prize: $2,500 to the charity of the fastest team
- Style prize: $500 to the charity of the team judges pick for best-themed racer and costumes
- Sign-up: details and registration at crownpointcoffinrace.com
The prizes go to charity, so a church group, a youth club or a neighborhood nonprofit can turn one afternoon of pushing into a $2,500 donation. The judged prize for theme and costumes means a slower team with the best-dressed coffin can still win money for its cause. Because the race follows the Pumpkin Walk, families already downtown in costume can stay on Main Street to watch.
The Rest of the Fall Calendar, From the Square Outward
Crown Point's fall events start just off the square at Bulldog Park, move onto Main Street and the courthouse, and end at a school gym. Here is the order, with times from the city's calendar and event pages:
- Oktoberfest, Saturday, Oct. 3, 1 to 10 p.m. at Bulldog Park, 183 S. West St. The city lists German food, local vendors, a beer garden, hayrides and family activities. Children's games run 1 to 2 p.m., PROST!/I.PA. plays 2:15 to 4:30, Ed Wagner's Brass Band plays 5 to 7:15, and Anthem Band closes the night from 8 to 10. A South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority listing shows a noon start. The city's calendar says 1 p.m., and so does this list.
- Pumpkin Walk and the first Coffin Cup, Saturday, Oct. 24. The trick-or-treat runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the race starts at 1 p.m.
- Citywide Trick-or-Treating, Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 to 7 p.m., rain or shine.
- Pink Friday, Nov. 20, 4 to 8 p.m. This is an evening of shopping around the square. Pick up maps and raffle entries inside the historic courthouse.
- Tank & Tree Lighting, Friday, Nov. 27. The tank lighting is at Goldsborough and Main at 6 p.m., and the courthouse tree lighting follows at 6:30.
- Winter Market, Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wheeler Middle School, 401 W. Joliet St.
Three of these six dates happen on the square or at the courthouse itself, so it serves as both the venue and the meeting spot for much of the season. Pink Friday is where Hub Bootery's move could make the biggest difference: if the store is open by Nov. 20, it will be on the square, on the same shopping route as the other stores.
How the Storefronts Around the Courthouse Have Changed
Hub Bootery is joining a downtown whose lineup has been changing.
Back in Time Donuts and Creamery opened by the courthouse square at 106 N. Main St. Tom Weddel, who owns Crown Point Toys and Collectibles and Crown Point Records, opened it with his brother as a donut shop, ice cream parlor and coffee shop. The shop is decorated with Back to the Future, He-Man and other 1980s pop culture. It serves traditional cake and yeast donuts, cinnamon rolls, brownies, shakes and ice cream cones, plus coffee made with beans from Steamwhistle Coffee Roasters. On Oct. 24, it's a short walk from both the Pumpkin Walk and the start of the race.
Zombie Club, the bar at 116 W. Clark St. that spent more than 30 years on the square, announced it would close when its lease expired. Its owners described it as a dive bar that grew into a lounge and became a regular local hangout.
SUGO Italian Kitchen has been announced for 115 W. Joliet St., the former Ricochet Tacos space, with handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza on the planned menu. Northwest Indiana Business reported in July that the restaurant expected to open in August. WhatNow reported around the same time that no opening date had been set, and that SUGO replaced the concept originally announced for the space. We couldn't confirm a first day of service by the end of September. Check the restaurant's own channels before planning a pre-race dinner there.
Biggby Coffee opened its second Crown Point shop at 801 N. Main St., which The Times reported in the same business column that covered Hub Bootery's move. Its other Crown Point location is at 1601 E. 109th Ave. It sits between Hub Bootery's old North Main location and the courthouse.
Damjanovic called the move "a fresh start, a new vision" for a family shoe store that has served the community since 1949. The store is choosing to come back to the square in the same October the city is adding a new event to it.
A long-standing business coming back to the square says something about where downtown Crown Point is headed. If you own a storefront, a mixed-use building or a house a few blocks from the courthouse and want to know what this fall's activity means for its value, Matt Evans and the RE/MAX Lifestyles team handle both residential and commercial property across the Region. Get your free home valuation and see what your address is worth in today's Crown Point market.
