The previous location of the Village Inn (before that the Broad Ripple Steak House) is under new owners. Bill Ficca, who with his wife owns several other area restaurants, are opening a combo pan Asian restaurant (on the first floor) which will be known as Kanukos. Upstairs will be a new gay bar, Elysium. They hope to open on October 1, 2014. This is the first gay bar in BR. It is also the first pan Asian restaurant in BR.

A.M. Real Estate Resources has opened in Broad Ripple. The family-owned firm doubles as an art gallery and has 3 employees: J.J. Canull, Zach Canull, and father Jim Canull (see photo at left). They moved in to their office at 6556 N. Cornell in May, 2014. They also manage 250 residential properties as welling as selling real estate. Deals are closed on a make shift swing-set. (This is not your typical real estate office.)

They feature art works and doubles as an art gallery. Right now you can enjoy the art work of Joel Washington of Bloomington. The artist is also a janitor at IU as well as being a painter. 10% percent of the proceeds of the real estate agency firm go to promoting local artists.

To see the artwork of this family owned real estate agency, stop by their offices.

Here are three great vendors I stopped by at the Broad Ripple Farmers Market:

Simple Tastes is a gluten, dairy and yeast free bakery operated by Jenny Cleave. Jenny also has paleo goodies (grain-less). They are great no matter what they do or don't have in them.

AppleWorks is out of Trafalgar and often sells the best value tomatoes you can find at the market ($1.50 per pound the day I was there vs. $3 or more at other stands). If you are like me, $1.75 is a stretch for a tomato. They also have sugar free pies (made with Splenda), an apple dumpling I hear tastes good with ice cream, salsa, apples, peaches, and more. Visit www.apple-works.com for more information. You can also stop by their orchard south of Trafalgar (near Peoga) which is east of Morgantown. The orchard also has a farm market, train ride, petting zoo, farmers market, and more.

Jacquie's Gourmet Catering also has a stand at the market They sell a spicy salsa, English scones with golden raisins, and more. They have a cafe in Carmel that serves breakfast and lunch as well. visit gourmetcateringwithjacquie.com for details or www.jacquies.net.

Norma Wallman, author of Wildflowers of Holliday Park, will have a fall wildflower hike on Saturday September 6, 2014. There are still a lot of flowers -- especially in the prairie at the entrance to the park. 10 a.m. $6 fee. Contact Holliday Park to register. 327-7180. See sneezeweed photo.

Haven't heard of the CLE? That's the Cleveland-Akron area. Just five hours (via I-69 and U.S. 24 (the new Fort to Port freeway) from the Ripple. Don't miss the Rock n Roll museum, the Lake Erie waterfront, Edgewater Park and Beach (just west of downtown), the Tower Building, Key Bank Building, Clifton Avenue, and Lakewood. It's a beautiful city on the shores of Lake Erie. If you haven't ever visited or visited in a while, you are in for a treat. Go to www.positivelycleveland.com for more trip ideas.