ON THE HORIZON

is getting items and meals delivered to their doorstep.

In 2020, COVID-19 sent many of us home, and offices and strip malls emptied. It was a dark time, economically, as restaurants, retail stores and other businesses struggled to find their way out of the hole. Thankfully, however, the landscape has improved and looks to continue doing so. Keith Stark, founder and CEO of ConsortiumCRE, has been working in the real estate business for 35 years and maintains that locally, occupancy levels are at an all-time high.

“I’m actually surprised at how quickly the recovery has returned,” Stark says. “Not only are we not experiencing vacancy levels coming out of COVID, but also there is a shortage of space.”

He notes that the biggest problem we’re facing right now is inflation and potentially stagflation, which is persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant economic demand.

Even prior to COVID-19, people lived, worked and shopped differently than they did in generations past. Regional malls were built in the 1960s to concentrate retail for convenience, but now convenience for many

“[At the height of the pandemic,] we saw a huge spike in online purchases and online food orders, but there has been a mass of movement back to physical retail shopping as well as restaurants,” Stark says.

The office sector, just like retail, is changing dramatically. Ever since COVID-19, a large segment of the population has grown accustomed to working from home. People found that they liked saving both time and money. Plus, they could wear comfy sweatpants 24/7. All of this translates to a good chunk of the population not being eager to return to the office. Hence, the office industry is seeing some high vacancies.

Thankfully, the job market looks good in the Hoosier state because people are moving here from all over the U.S.

“We have migration into the nine-county area, which is huge,” Stark says. “That’s the best kind of injection of hope you can have. As a result, Indiana is probably in the best shape it has ever been in as a state.”

According to Stark, a surge of new retail is coming to Indy in 2023 and beyond.

“It’s unprecedented in my 35-year career,” Stark says. “In just Hamilton County, there’s BJ’s Wholesale Club coming onto the market, and a fifth Costco coming in 2024 or 2025. Plus, we’re seeing a record number of new restaurants coming in.”

The bottom line is that Stark predicts that 2023 is going to be an amazing year.

“It’s a bright future for Indiana,” he says.

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It was a phrase that grandmothers all over Indiana will say at family dinner.

“Keep your fork.”

For Jennifer Dupree, it’s not only a phrase of comfort and excitement that dessert is next, but a phrase that means the best is yet to come.

“I saw a story about this woman suffering from cancer who had a fork tattooed on her wrist, and when she was asked about it, she said it was a reminder that the best was yet to come,” Dupree says. “I like that aspect because I am a Christian and I love that, yes, the best is yet to come even at the end of your life…I can also relate it to my business.”

After first learning to decorate ice cream cakes as a young manager at her local Dairy Queen, Dupree decided to warm things up a bit and started working on baked goods in her own home in the evenings and weekends she wasn’t working.

“It just went from there,” she says. “Family and close friends would ask me to bake for them. Then people started asking to order a cake from me. Friends and family of coworkers would reach out to me, and it just kept growing.”

The beginning of 2022 saw Dupree take her side business to an official side hustle, giving it the name Keep Your Fork and becoming more of a figure in the eastern part of Hamilton County. “I decided to start this adventure to see where it can go,” she says.

Wherever it’s going, it’s going on a skyrocket. Since she officially opened Keep Your Fork and created a Facebook page, her following has grown.

Organically, Dupree has passed 1,100 followers. During the holiday season, Dupree has limited her engagements to keep up with the high demand of her cakes, cupcakes and seasonal pies.

Dupree has worked for Community Health Network for over 20 years while balancing spending time with her family. Dupree has three adopted children (Mason, Jaxson, and London) with her husband of seven years, Chuck. Each member of the family has their own favorite when it comes to Dupree’s creations.

“My husband isn’t a big cake person, ironically,” she says. “But I have found some flavors that he has become a fan of, like my banana pudding cupcake. I grew up in Fortville, so I have plenty of family and friends who help me taste test and give me feedback.”

For Mason, he’s a fan of the plain white cupcake with nothing fancy. Jaxson is the chocoholic of the family and goes nuts for peanut butter and chocolate combined. Finally, girly-girl London will devour anything pink, at any time. Jennifer’s new favorite is one of her latest creations: cinnamon apple pie. You can find cupcakes and cakes at Keep Your Fork, but you can also find cookie cakes and pies offered during the holiday seasons. To find out more about Keep Your Fork’s offerings, you can follow them on Facebook: facebook.com/ KeepYourForkBakeries.