Legacy Pizza & Bakery aims to include dine-in service by September, so read all about it.

On Monday, Legacy Pizza & Bakery (1001 Vincennes) issued a progress report on Facebook. It's a family business doing it the old-school way, with great food and hard work.

Not a misprint, because Legacy Pizza and Bakery has OPENED in New Albany (April 23)

The short version: business has been very good and the Doerings are embarking on phase two, which is finishing the interior for dine-in service. This will require a shortening of business hours for the next six weeks, until the remodeling is complete.

Opening a carryout-only pizzeria during a pandemic may have seemed crazed at the time, but if you've had Legacy's food, it's obvious that the quality can't be denied. What's more, being open for pizza at the same time as two of the city's biggest pizza purveyors were closed -- Wick's (permanently, it appears) and NABC Pizzeria & Public House until August (we think) -- is savvy, to put it simply. 

Follow the Facebook link to read the entire statement. Here's the cheat sheet:

Our temporary hours will be Wednesday-Saturday, 12-9, Sunday 3-8. We do very little business before 3 on Sundays, and Tuesdays are our slowest day of the week and being closed back to back on Mondays and Tuesdays will allow us to complete bigger projects and will not disrupt service.

HMS Maritime's downtown expansion is a positive development, one largely omitting City Hall.

As preface, kindly note that I'm entirely down with HMS Maritime's expansion, its purchase of a downtown building and the notion of rehabbing it.

It's a perfect example of the sort of jobs that David White will be far better placed to attract to New Albany, whether by cooperating with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and One Southern Indiana or on his own.

But that's a discussion for another time. As for HMS Maritime, I'm intrigued by the contrasting versions of the press release made available today.

There was a full-length press release from the IEDC amid the customary One Southern Indiana preening, but interestingly, the News and Tribune apparently edited it owing to space restrictions. In the latter's version, City Hall's role (exceedingly slight already) in enticing this expansion is rewritten and reduced to the final sentence.

The city of New Albany is considering additional incentives at the request of One Southern Indiana.

Note also the difference in banners, both identifying the company in question and stipulating finality in the transaction.

News and Tribune: "Global Marine Management and Operations Co. expanding in New Albany."

IEDC: "HMS Global Maritime Considers New Albany for Training/Customer Support Center."

Are we to surmise that with all other state incentives duly awarded, genuine "done deal" finality awaits the city's "additional incentives at the request of One Southern Indiana?"

Here's the News and Tribune text, which pleasingly omits a measure of self-glorification on the part of the suits. Congrats to whomever wielded the word ax.

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NEW ALBANY — HMS Global Maritime, an Indiana-based marine management and operations company, and its affiliate, American Queen Steamboat Co., announced plans today to expand in New Albany, creating up to 50 new jobs by the end of 2022.

"Businesses like HMS Global Maritime and American Queen Steamboat Company are vital to Indiana’s success, helping propel the state’s economy and enriching their communities by providing quality career opportunities for Hoosiers,” said Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) President Elaine Bedel. “This commitment is an exciting step forward for Indiana, where our transportation and logistics industry is thriving in the Crossroads of America, as well as for the New Albany community, which continues to invest in its quality of place to support a growing talent base.”

HMS Global Maritime and American Queen Steamboat Co., HMS Global Maritime's overnight cruise division, plan to invest nearly $800,000 over the next few years to renovate and equip a recently-purchased, 10,000-square-foot historic building at 213 Pearl St. in downtown New Albany. The new facility will house a training and customer service center for American Queen Steamboat, which will accommodate 200 to 300 hospitality and hotel trainees annually. Construction is underway, and the new facility is expected to be fully operational by the fall of this year.

HMS Global Maritime and its affiliates, including American Queen Steamboat, employ 56 associates in Indiana across two existing New Albany facilities and a warehouse in Clark County. With this increased footprint, the companies will scale their teams in Indiana to support operations across the country. Hiring is expected to begin this summer with new positions in customer service and hospitality training. Interested applicants may go online to apply for open positions.

"At HMS Global Maritime and American Queen Steamboat Company, our philosophy is to push ourselves to not only be a world-class company, but to commit to delivering an uncompromising customer experience by providing our employees the very best in training, support and skills to be successful," said John Waggoner, HMS Global Maritime president and CEO. "This proposed training center in the heart of downtown New Albany would not only help us maintain the quality workforce we need to succeed, but also bring hundreds of visitors to our hometown annually. It is the very definition of a win-win situation."

HMS Global Maritime is a family of international, hospitality and support companies that serve government, private industry and direct consumers. The company provides a variety of services from project consulting to turn key management. HMS Global Maritime has experienced substantial growth in its overnight cruise division over the past eight years and has built the American Queen Steamboat Company from the ground up to more than $100 million in annual revenue.

The IEDC offered HMS Global Maritime up to $400,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $50,000 through the Hoosier Business Investment (HBI) tax credit program based on the company's job creation and investment plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired or until qualified investments are made, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of New Albany is considering additional incentives at the request of One Southern Indiana.

THE BEER BEAT: Falls City nixes its previous expansion plan, and now the new brewery is slated for NuLu.

There's only one way to the beer garden.

Way back on January 27, I thought we had this Falls City brewery expansion package nicely packed and wrapped, so much so that it inspired a vintage pro-localism rant.

THE BEER BEAT: No selfies necessary, because localism is why I believe the impending Falls City expansion is good news.

 ... To me, this is great news. It brings the brand back home, and the expansion ties into what John Neace and Neace Ventures are doing with Louisville City FC, and in my mind, enhances prospects for the soccer stadium to be in the west end. All I need is for the K & I Bridge to be reopened to foot and bicycle traffic, making my commute to all this easier without a car.

It's still good news, and yes, I still want the K & I to be open for use by humans as well as trains, but I'm not sure the ink was dry on my post in January before rumors commenced that the west end brewery buildout wouldn't be coming to fruition. These reports spiked around the time of Louisville FC's big stadium news.

Louisville City FC set to announce Butchertown stadium location as the Bud Light Limes flow like unabated storm water over at the Roadhouse.

"The ownership of Louisville City FC has 40 acres in the Butchertown neighborhood – off Cabel, Adams and Campbell streets – under contract for a new soccer stadium that would be flanked by other commercial development."

Obviously, it makes little sense for the Neace family to own a brewery and for it not to supply vast amounts of beer for games played by the soccer team, in which they also have an ownership stake. This new projected brewery location is a bare mile from the proposed stadium site.

The current Falls City property (along with 502 Winery and Over the 9) would remain on duty to guard the western flank and give me a place to ride my bike once the K & I is seized by the city of Louisville, removed from the cold dead hands of Norfolk Southern, and restored to public access.

As ever, a boy can dream.

Falls City Brewing Co. announces move to NuLu, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

Falls City Brewing Company will open a new brewery and taphouse in NuLu later this year, featuring a canning line and outdoor beer garden.

The brewery’s owners announced in January that a new facility would open in Portland, but the deal didn’t go through as planned. The new facility at 901 E. Liberty St. is a property owned by the brewing company’s owner, Neace Ventures.

Construction will begin sometime in June, and the brewery is expected to be fully operational by late autumn.

Pacers & Racers store expansion is under way.

A while back I was asked to assemble a list of iconic independent small businesses in Floyd County, and indulged in social media crowd-sourcing to augment my preconceived notions. There was widespread agreement in this instance.

Pacers & Racers at Facebook has an announcement.

WE ARE EXPANDING! You won't have to go far (next door and all the way to the corner space!

Why are we doing this? We simply ran out of room, thanks to our 78,000 customers who have been fitted for over 155,000 pairs of shoes since 1998.

What's changing? More styles (more products, more, more widths), twice as many fitting stations, enlarged kids area, more natural lighting, less waiting time, and more parking.

What's not changing? The way we take care of you... that will never change.

These guys do it right. Visit their web site for more information.

Pacers & Racers.

3602 Northgate Ct. #19

New Albany, IN 47150

(812) 948-7865