At Obi’s Barbeque, house manager Malia said things may shift with students gone but they remain busy. 

“Yeah you feel it when IWU comes back but with people being out of school some of them do stay here and their parents will come to visit them. School’s out for kids, everybody’s able to get out and do more,” Malia said. 

She said that summer brings Obi’s busy catering season. 

“A lot of people tend to get married in the summertime, so we also do a lot of catering,” Malia said. 

Obi’s plans to expand this coming summer with hopes to open a new location in Hartford City by mid-June. 

Ashley’s Ice Cream is preparing for its first full summer under new ownership. Tyler Hewitt bought the business in November and said he is looking forward to what the season brings. 

“I haven’t got to experience summer yet but I have seen the couple of warm days we’ve had, we’ve been slammed and lined up out the door,” Hewitt said. 

Hewitt said that with many students gone there might be a shift, but recognizes the presence of Marion’s local community. 

“I’m sure there’ll be an effect with IWU and Taylor going home, but at the same time, I think Marion’s a big enough community where we’re still going to have a lot of people coming in,” Hewitt said. 

Hewitt said Ashley’s is planning a series of summer events, including a movie night, concert and outdoor games. 

“I think, like, sky’s the limit for the courtyard, so I’m just trying to get more ideas of stuff to have out there,” Hewitt said. 

Elevate Nutrition is preparing to celebrate its one-year anniversary. Owner Kayla Taylor said she is looking forward to the shop’s celebration in May.

“May 16 we’re gonna have a big party treated like a customer appreciation day, where there’ll be special shakes, giveaways,and lots of decor for everybody to celebrate the one year,” Taylor said.

The donut shop was opened by Cambodian immigrant Arron Sok in 2019 in Indianapolis. There are now nearly ten Pana locations across Indiana with the Marion location being the newest addition.  

“I got a dozen donut holes from there this week,” said Jonny Rupp, a new Pana Donuts customer. “They do a great job over there and provide a ton of different options.” 

Pana Donuts sells both cake and yeast donuts.  

“I think we are set apart from places like Jack’s or Dunkin’ because we are more authentic and sell more than one kind of donut,” said John Shi, a manager at Pana Donuts, Marion.  

The store in Marion is also selling other kinds of pastries like bear claws, apple fritters, butterflies and more.  

“Their fritters are so tasty” said, Rachel Lee, a Pana Donuts customer.  

The Marion location hopes to establish themselves as the go-to donut shop for the city.  

After their grand opening earlier this month, Pana gained a significant level of attention and publicity from the town of Marion. By offering discounts and samples during the grand opening, Shi hopes the Pana team has won over some customers that will return frequently.  

“Offering free samples and discounts is an investment that we are more than willing to make. We want customers to come back,” said Shi.  

“There’s always some absolutely amazing work in there, and they have everything from photography to watercolor, you know, kind of a neat combination of different media,” Librarian Barbara Enslen said. 

The categories include oil, acrylic, watercolor, drawing, mixed media and photography. Winners of each category will receive cash prizes. 

Laurie Gates, Grant County Art Association secretary said she is excited for this year’s show. 

“Every year is a little different, we never know if we’re gonna have more oils, more acrylics, more watercolors or what,” Gates said. 

Last year, Judy Keilholtz, a Grant County Art Association member won best of show. 

“This year I’ve been too busy to really put much into the show but I’m looking forward to seeing all the other artist’s work,” Keilholtz said. 

Adults 18 and older can enter up to six pieces.Each entry costs $10 and must be submitted on April 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the second floor of the Marion Public Library. 

Entry forms are available at the Marion Public Library reference desk or can be requested by emailing grantcountyartassociation@yahoo.com. 

The art will be on exhibit from April 5 through May 1, 2025.

The event will feature new updates, bingo, prizes and food served by The Kitchen Company, a program designed for career training for people with disabilities. 

“Denim and Diamonds every year is an opportunity for us to partner with the community and celebrate people with disabilities, the families and children that we serve in Early Head Start, and share updates,” Allbaugh, CEO of Carey Services said. “We wanted to bring the community into our facilities here on our main campus in Marion to really let folks see where  the magic is happening,” 

Kelly Scher, vice president of advancement at Carey Services, said recent renovations also influenced the decision to host the event on campus. 

“So this year’s Denim and Diamonds is being held on our campus in Marion. This is being done as a way to showcase some of the new space that we have renovated in the last year and a half and talk through some new and exciting things that we have in vision for the future,” Scher said. 

Each year, Denim and Diamonds celebrates diversity and inclusion through its dress code. 

“When you think of denim and diamonds, you think of your denim as being more casual and your diamonds a little more dressed up. And so that’s similar to the idea that we’re very different from one another,” Scher said. 

“When we all come together, we make a great community that’s diverse and inclusive, and that’s what we celebrate. So we encourage people to dress however they want,” Scher said. 

In the past, attendees have ranged from those in T-shirts and jeans to others in elegant evening gowns. 

Teresa and Troy Cass have attended Denim and Diamonds for the past two years. “It’s been a true celebration, the years we’ve attended,” Teresa Cass said. 

A large goal of the event is to help raise money and awareness around Carey Services and their mission.

“I think this event allows the community to not only financially support Carey Services, but get an inside look at all Carey Services has to offer,” Teresa Cass said. 

“When we put tariffs on imported goods, the costs of these tariffs are embedded in the price of what we buy in very complicated ways,” Economist Alex Russell said. 

The new policy that President Trump is implementing is going to increase Chinese imports to 20%, 25% on most Canadian and Mexican goods, as well as a 25% global tariff on steel and aluminum products. 

Many local businesses are heavily affected by this including car dealerships and jewelry stores. 

“It’s all a little unsettling. Importers from China will have to decide how much of the added 10% they’ll have to pass on. If you import from Canada and Mexico, you probably won’t have a choice but to add the extra costs. It will definitely make jewelry more expensive.… It feels like a big mess,” Lillian Harsha, an employee at Kay Jewelers, said. 

With the new tariffs, there are major risks that the citizens are going to have to face which can result in a reduction of jobs, higher prices for electricity and a significant increase of purchasing cars. 

“It’s reasonable to expect that vehicle prices will rise, which presents an added challenge to an industry that is already grappling with ongoing affordability concerns,” Mark Mcknee, an employee at M&H Auto, said. 

These tariffs will have a negative impact on the everyday consumer, especially those who rely on imported goods. With an average income of 29,000 in the Grant County area, this will likely put a strain on household budgets. 

Krista Brown, an owner of Lolas’, said she thinks the new coffee shops will be good for Marion. 

“We support and are excited about changes that Mayor Morrell is making and all the new initiatives he has,” Brown said. “Bringing new businesses to the area is awesome.” 

Brown said that with the new Starbucks open, there is a possibility that local shops will be impacted.  

Andrea Vinluan, an owner of Lolas’, said she is not worried about the effects of the new coffee shops. 

“I think that the appeal is they will definitely have an impact, but the truth of the matter is there’s enough coffee drinkers that we believe it will be good,” Vinluan said. 

Brown and Vinluan said that Lolas’ offers more than just coffee by creating a community and space to form connections. 

Just like Lolas’, the staff at the Abbey Coffee Co. are considering the impact the new coffee shops will have on their business. 

Makenzie Cooper, a barista at the Abbey, said she thinks the new Starbucks and 7 Brew will not hurt the Abbey. 

“I remember our manager thinking at first that it was going to hurt the Abbey, but I think that the Abbey has such loyal customers,” Cooper said. 

Cooper said even though the new coffee shops will be big competitors, customers will still come to the Abbey because of the beans they sell. 

“People come for our beans, since we sell good drinks for those who like the taste of coffee,” Cooper said. 

With the new Starbucks open a couple miles away from Lolas’ and the Abbey, their customers are still staying loyal to the businesses. 

Gareth Hill, a frequent customer at the Abbey and Lolas’, said he thinks the new coffee shops will not compete with the atmosphere and coffee of the local shops. 

“People are looking for the social aspect of a coffee shop, but also for good quality drinks,” Hill said. “With Starbucks, it’s expensive and the drinks always taste different.” 

With the importance of creating an atmosphere for customers, places like Lolas’ and the Abbey continue to create experiences for their customers. 

Ellianna Vinluan, a barista at Lolas’, said they try to provide fun events for their customers. 

“We just did cuddles and coffee, trivia night, and a dried flower workshop,” Vinluan said. 

Brown said they also created an app for customers to order online and receive specials and discounts on drinks. 

The Community Foundation of Grant County said in a press release that they awarded the donations on Nov. 6, 2024. Joe Jordan, president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Wayne, said the Community Foundation awarded the organization with $15,000 to support the program Project Learn.  

“Project Learn is really kind of a evidence based program provided by the National Boys and Girls Club of America that we conduct every day in our clubs,” Jordan said. “It’s about academic enhancement, homework assistance, and getting kids back on track academically.” 

Christopher Wallace, senior director of the Boys and Girls Club of Grant County, said some of the donations provided maps to help children learn about places outside of Marion. The funds also provided materials for educational activities and sports equipment to help with physical exercise and teamwork.  

The club offers Power Hour to help children with their homework.  

“Power Hour just provides them with the opportunity to get that undivided attention from an adult that also understands the content,” Volunteer Kiersten Todd said. 

Wallace said that the Boys and Girls Club works closely with the school system. 

“We want these kids to know that the Boys and Girls Club is valuable. We are very, very valuable to education, social, mental, physical health. And the educational portion of this is actually getting involved with the school, being apart, being a face and letting them see us and understanding that we’re all in this together” Wallace said.  

Volunteer Mackenzie Boyer said she appreciates the academic help the organization provides for students.  

“When I came last semester when the kids were first starting off their school year, it was amazing to just sit down with the kids and go through homework. And then, seeing their academic growth from last semester to this point is something that is really amazing,” Boyer said.

Wallace said that even though donations are important, he places more value on the work the club does in building relationships with students.  

“Every child wants somebody to believe in them,” Wallace said. “And that’s us.”  

The chocolate walk is an opportunity for local, small businesses to volunteer and pass out chocolate candies to the community. 

Dawn Conwell previously sat on the Historic Marion board and spearheaded this year’s chocolate walk. 

“It’s something fun that the community can participate in, also getting the community involved in supporting a not for profit,” Conwell said. 

This year, Historic Marion was chosen because they’re newly formed. 

“A lot of the people on the board either work downtown or are business owners downtown, and just really have a heart for, you know, making the downtown a better place,” Conwell said. 

Abby Hewitt, a staff member at Ashely’s Ice Cream, described some of Historic Marion’s initiatives. 

“They’re working on getting some new murals, benches, enhancing the green space, thinking about ways that they can improve the building facades and whatnot,” Hewitt said. 

Ashley’s Ice Cream gave out chocolate ice cream as their contribution to the event. 

“We’re actually giving out a miniature scoop of ice cream since that’s, you know, kind of what we do here,” Hewitt said. 

Julie Harbert and Gary Harbert both participated in the chocolate walk as a part of their Valentines celebration. 

“The chocolate cheesecake that we got looks really good, and all of it looks really delicious,” Julie Harbert said. 

The Hive Mind Market gave out Rob’s Kitchen chocolate cheesecake. 

Rebecca, the owner of Hive Mind Market, was intentional about supporting a small business during the event as a small business owner herself. 

“It was important for me to support a local maker, to help promote them and connect them with the community,” Rebecca said.

Co-owner of Lola’s, Krista Brown, said that people often say there is nothing to do in Marion. In response to this, Lola’s hosted a trivia night to help people see that there actually are things to do locally. 

Trivia night was designed with Lola’s vision in mind. Nicholas Hindes, the MC for the evening, said, “The vision was really to support the values and the vision of Lola’s.”

Brown said that part of Lola’s vision is community and creating a space where people want to be.

“One of the values of Lola’s is to really create a warm space for people to experience community; for people to experience love,” Hindes said.

Every seat at trivia night was filled. People gathered together and experienced community, as was the vision. Dottie Sonderstrom, a member of the winning team, said she enjoyed talking with her teammates between questions. 

Soderstrom said her favorite part of trivia night was getting together with people that she doesn’t see on a regular basis.

Hindes said his favorite part of MC-ing the event was watching the teams celebrate their correct answers. 

Lola’s looks forward to creating more opportunities for the community in Marion in the future. The next trivia night will be on March 13th.

Ashley’s Ice Cream recently moved locations in Marion, but hosted a new event “Sprinkled Event” to honor Valentine’s day and collaborations with local vendors. 

“Growing up in Marion, there was a lot of businesses I’ve seen come and go, and now coming back home I thought Marion needed more,” Tyler Hewitt, Owner of Ashley’s Ice Cream said, “The more things we can do to bring the community in and make this business better, we feel that we can help the community and grow downtown.” 

The Sprinkled event came from another business in town “Sprinkled by Stephanie”, where they specialize in cupcakes and bakery deserts. This joint Valentine’s day event focused on bringing as many people together and meeting the faces of the community. 

The specials for the “Sprinkled event” were Donut Strawberry Shortcakes and Brownie Sundaes. 

“They are a lot more involved with the community, employees, and themselves. They are people that I look up to,” Madison Archer, an employee, said. “We do a lot more events now, than before and I can definitely see the change in the business and the community.” 

Many couples stopped by to enjoy some delicious deserts and the beautiful decorations on display. 

“When businesses like Ashley’s provide something like this, it encourages families to stay local and keep their dollars here in Grant County” Adrienne Hammond, a resident in Grant Country said.