The Local Fort Wayne

In October, The Local is partnering with Summit City Vintage to bring all paid subscribers a special deal: 10% off any purchase. Summit City Vintage is a vintage clothing store specializing in men's, women’s and children’s clothing in styles ranging from the 60’s to the 2000’s.

Shop owners Justin Garman and Edwin Thomas met while vending at pop-up events, and realized that they not only had a shared passion, but also were both driving hours away to visit the nearest vintage clothing store.

“The lack of options locally made our shopping experience limited to vacations, or trips to big cities,” Thomas said. “We wanted to bring a store you’d see in Chicago or Indianapolis to Fort Wayne.”

We’re wrapping up three weeks of reporting on Electric Works with a reader question regarding an alleged “community benefit fund” the project was supposed to create. Details in this week’s Above the Fold.

In Briefs, we have updates on Parkview’s latest hospital acquisitions, new businesses opening at the Schaab Building on North River and what’s happening in Fort Wayne’s office market – including new uses for the former Lincoln Financial building Downtown.

We also have some fun fall events for your calendar, from an interesting new Philosophy Hour at Packard Taphouse, to Hot C***r races and themed book clubs and concerts.

What's happening on Electric Works East Campus + how does it affect neighborhoods?

lately.

As we reported on Tuesday: The Indianapolis-based Cunningham Restaurant Group recently announced plans* to bring three original restaurant concepts to campus by late 2026 or early 2027:

A sports bar called “Fuse Box” in the former Chapman’s Brewing space.
“The Morning Current” cafe for coffee and brunch.
A future dinner concept TBA.
The Local’s Editor and Co-Founder, Kara Hackett, was also recently featured in a documentary by WPTA 21, Revisiting the Dream of Electric Works, which reflects on the original vision for the project.

This all got us thinking: What promises has Electric Works made to Fort Wayne, and how is it delivering on those promises so far – now that we're almost five years into the 10-year vision?

From new restaurants at Electric Works to more diesel generators at the Google data center, we have lots of news for you this week.

In Above the Fold, we’re diving into how Electric Works is delivering on a few key promises it made to the public, and how its new restaurant concepts fit into this. Stay tuned for more findings in our Thursday newsletter – for paid subscribers only.

Yesterday, Google announced plans to more than double the number of diesel generators at its Fort Wayne data center – bringing the new total to more than 400 onsite. We fill you in on what to know in Briefs. We also share some more uplifting updates, like a new brewery coming to the former Junk Ditch space, seeking a liquor license at City Council tonight.

Get details, with the link in bio. Photo by k f strasen

There’s plenty of news in Fort Wayne each week to keep us busy with breaking reports. But sometimes, we find it helpful to dive into a topic that’s less emergent and more foundational to understanding how the city and its various leadership roles and assets operate.

Today, we’re taking a deeper look at the city’s Legacy Fund, which has been an important topic behind-the-scenes at City Council in the past year as representatives weigh the value of various projects and proposals.

While most of us have heard the term “Legacy Fund” from time-to-time, we realize many residents – including ourselves – might not have a thorough understanding of the fund’s assets and purpose, or how it plays into conversations about projects and spending.

We dive in deeper in our Thursday Above the Fold newsletter, link in bio.

We have a lot of news for you on this short holiday week, including details on our Editor, Kara Hackett, being featured in WPTA 21’s investigation into Electric Works last week.

In this week’s Above the Fold, we’re looking into city and state codes governing the substitution of City Council members, following the multi-week absence of Rep. Dr. Scott Myers (R-4) during several key Council votes this summer.

Speaking of hot topics at City Council: In Briefs, we bring you the latest on Fort Wayne’s Flock camera and homeless service center discussions, as well as a proposal to place a moratorium on data center developments expected to be introduced at Council tonight.

In our To Do List, we have a jam-packed schedule of events, from Blue Jacket’s popular Second Chances Art Exhibit on Thursday to Fort Wayne’s First Middle Eastern Coffee Shop and West Central ArtsFest this weekend.

West Central Neighborhood, Fort Wayne Blue Jacket Inc. Aroma Lounge