The IBJ Podcast

Feb 02 2025 100 ep. 40 mins 164

The IBJ Podcast artwork

A weekly take on business news in central Indiana. The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

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A preschool, a church, a pickleball palace—tracking the transformations of Indy’s vacant Marsh supermarkets

Feb 02 2025 33 mins

Founded in central Indiana, Marsh Supermarkets Inc. at its peak operated well over 100 stores, with a critical mass in the nine-county Indianapolis metro area. In 2017—11 years after a private equity firm took ownership—just 63 stores remained. Marsh declared bankruptcy in May 2017. From those 63 stores, Marsh closed the majority and sold 26 to Kroger and Needlers.That left a l

The latest on downtown soccer stadium, $78M Fever facility and Simon hotel/concert venue

Jan 26 2025 41 mins

It’s time to unpack the latest developments in Mayor Joe Hogsett’s plan to establish a Major League Soccer team in downtown Indianapolis. Among other things, the team needs a stadium to play in. The city earmarked about 16 acres in the southeast quadrant of the Mile Square and held discussions with MLS officials. We were left with a cliffhanger: Can the city get state approval

Pete the Planner on Trump's second term, rising inflation and the impact of the LA wildfires on housing

Jan 19 2025 31 mins

The official release date of this episode is Jan. 20, which not coincidentally is Inauguration Day. President Trump will outline his vision for second term, but we already have a sense of what to expect in terms of economic policy. Four of the biggest themes are prioritizing tax cuts, decreasing regulation in several major industries, increasing tariffs on imported goods from tradi

Inside the mind of a rising Indy apartment developer

Jan 12 2025 43 mins

After five years leading apartment development for Indianapolis-based real estate firm Birge & Held, Jarod Brown decided he wanted a business with his name on the door. So he struck out on his own in late 2022 and soon hung his shingle for Brown Capital Group on an historic building in Broad Ripple. As a developer, he hit the ground running with an impressive set of established

Dave Lindquist previews can't-miss entertainment in 2025

Jan 05 2025 29 mins

2024 was a big year for entertainment in Indianapolis. Taylor Swift came to town for three concerts of course. But major sports events including NBA All-Star Weekend, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials and Indianapolis 500 included multiple concerts and arts events. Even celebrations around the eclipse featured music and the arts. So will 2025 be a letdown? IBJ Editor Lesley Weidenb

Mission of Indy furniture maker ‘is about building other people up’

Dec 15 2024 36 mins

Indy-based Furniture maker Purposeful Design LLC—which lives under the umbrella of the nonprofit Sagamore Institute—works with local relief organizations to recruit people who have struggled with addiction, homelessness, incarceration and other obstacles to self-sufficiency. As apprentices and craftspeople, the workers learn skills that can help them find employment, as well as

Josef Newgarden, Indy 500 champ and avid investor, also races against S&P 500

Dec 08 2024 33 mins

IndyCar and Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden doesn’t take his hands off the steering wheel when he leaves the cockpit of his No. 2 Chevy. He enjoys being a very hands-on caretaker of his career, business interests and financial life. As he says in his IBJ Podcast interview this week, “Maybe I’m just too type-A, but I want to know where every dollar is.”That includes tracki

Why size matters when it comes to concert venues in Indy

Nov 24 2024 42 mins

Indianapolis-based concert company MOKB Presents recently announced plans to open a 1,200-capacity venue in early 2026 at the former site of Well Done Marketing in Fountain Square’s Murphy Arts Building. The plans for a new indoor venue means outdoor concerts at shows at the Hi-Fi Annex — located in the parking lot outside the Murphy building — will end next fall. Hi-Fi Annex

Inside jeweler’s decision to close one of downtown’s oldest businesses

Nov 17 2024 36 mins

Windsor Jewelry has operated within a stone’s throw of Monument Circle since the year 1919. Some of its client relationships go back five generations. It has been owned by only three people: its founder, Sig Asher; then Asher’s son-in-law, Herman Logan; and then Greg Bires, an employee who bought the business from Logan in 1998. It has survived the Great Depression, the economi

Pete the Planner on Trump’s potential impact on investors, taxes, inflation and the auto industry

Nov 10 2024 34 mins

Donald Trump is headed for a second term in the White House. The pundits have had ample opportunity to dissect the political implications of his victory. For this week’s podcast, we wanted to explore the potential financial repercussions of a new Trump administration.There’s no mystery about his fondness toward tariffs—the taxes applied by the government for imported or expor