Blackford County is the fourth smallest county in Indiana, the smallest in the north side of the state, and the 8th smallest in population. Splintering off from neighboring Jay County in the 1830’s there were only a couple villages within the borders until the gas boom occurred later in that century. The population increased as the factories moved in until the boom ended in the first decade in the 20th century. Today, the people are centered in the two largest communities left in the cities of Montpelier and the County Seat we will be focusing on in this blog, Hartford City.
The Tenderloin
Gas stations and bowling alleys historically have not been a bastion of culinary delights. But as local businesses have diversified their services you start to find some of the best eatin’ in these establishments. The improved gas station food have been around for a while and you can find them featured on TV shows and even in older editions of this blog. But, bowling alleys are really starting to up their game from the simple hot dogs and pizza to full service restaurants. I’ve had a couple of tenderloin suggestions at bowling alleys and I’m finally getting to sample it at the first one I’ve heard of – The Pickle Lounge and Northside Lanes. I remember reading an article as I was starting this blog of a group going around trying tenderloins, themselves, here in this alley in Hartford City. It’s been on my list since the beginning and as the sandwich came out on my plate, I could see why someone would include this in a group tasting. This loin came out golden and crispy. The menu states hand breaded on-site and when you crunch down on the first bite and find crispy crumble flows smoothly into the tender meat, you can be assured the menu is not lying. With a soft bun and a cup of buffalo sauce for dipping, it makes a fine sandwich not only for a bowling alley, but in any type of restaurant. You won’t get a circus sized one here, but it is large enough to keep you filled up in a single meal. And – what is it with places that have “Pickle” in their name that make some of the best tenderloins? I went to The Greazy Pickle in the county next door in Portland last year and now I found myself in the Pickle Lounge consuming one of Indiana’s finest. Well, I heard that bowling alley calling my name from the next room, but I’ll have to cover that portion in the town section.
The Town
The revitalization of “the downtown” is a newer thing that started around multiple cities around 20 years ago. Some places are fully realized and give me many options to shop, visit, and tour within a small area. Other places are still a bit run-down and house mostly local necessities (such as grocery, churches, bail bondsmen) and I have to get more to the outskirts to find places to write about. Hartford City is right smack dab in the middle of their downtown transformation. The few small businesses that surround the courthouse are fairly new and the owners were full of stories about how they got there and the new projects that are coming soon. I was able to get a good mix around town of what to see and where to visit during this trip.
We went to a coffee shop for lunch called Common Grounds. This is a more traditional downtown coffee shop in an old furniture store that serves fresh breakfast dishes as well as a soup and sandwich lunch. The farmhouse décor creates a homey feel. There is even a mezzanine that you can climb the stairs to get a bird’s eye view of the café. I had myself a grilled bacon and cheese sandwich while my son got 2nd breakfast with an egg and cheese burrito. The owner took our order and we chatted with her for a while getting some history of the place and suggestions on what to see in town. She assured us that this was not only the first coffee shop here, but the best. We sat at the chess table (I hate chess) and my son proceeded to guess my every move as my king had fallen before lunch even came out. I was so happy we stopped here and it was a perfect place to hang out for a while why we waited for other shops to open up.
The Magic Corner Game Store is part Game store and part… just wait… you’d never guess… Christmas Extravaganza! While the shelves are full of Pokémon and Dungeons & Dragons in the front, if you go to the back past the North Pole fence you can find Christmas Trees and Santas hanging around. During 11 months of the year you can participate in Magic Card games, the 12th month you can bring the kids to not just sit on Santa’s lap, but get a whole Christmas experience. My son and I browsed the gaming section looking for the all elusive “One Piece” card decks. Although they didn’t have them in stock, he ended up with some stickers from the popular Anime and now they cover his water bottle to display to all his friends at school. Whether you are a fan of gaming or Christmas or even just have a subtle interest in one or the other, the Magic Corner Game Store is worth a visit in downtown Hartford City across from the courthouse.
Although most music these days is bought digitally, when you want a hard copy of your favorite tunes it seems the most popular way to collect them now is buying the old-school vinyl albums. Your local box store isn’t going to stock those old black records (or if they do it will be in limited supply), so you can walk into a store like Thrifty Sounds down on Washington Street where they will have an eclectic collection to acquire your classic favorites. If you don’t own a turntable (or record player, phonograph, gramophone, whatever you want to call it) there are collections of CD’s, cassettes, DVD’s, action figures, and other cool stuff from your youth, or considered retro by today’s youth. What really peaked my interest was the collection of used guitar picks for sale. You see, the owner used to work concerts for famous rock bands and would pick up discarded picks after the sets were over. I was more than happy to walk out with a couple souvenirs from famous bands like Def Leppard and Aerosmith.
A new feature this year I would like to write about is to find the old high-school in town. Before consolidation in the 50’s and 60’s, each town had their own. Usually built before or during the depression, these schools were the basis for Hoosier Hysteria basketball as they all played in one big tournament to determine the best in the state that year. Now, a lot have been combined with other towns and moved to a centralized facility out in the middle of nowhere on old farmland. I’ve seen many different uses for the old buildings, as some have been turned into apartments, transformed into a community center, or even housed an escape room or two. So as I set out to find the old Harford City High School, I found that it had been torn down after consolidation. But, they built a City Hall / police station at the site and included a beautiful memorial for the old High School. There is a nice brick plaza commemorating the old school surrounded by curved walls with all the names of the students that graduated over the years. It is a fitting tribute to the past to check out whether you graduated from the school or just passing by.
Let’s not forget where we started in this blog – the bowling alley. I bowled in leagues starting in the early 2000’s all the way up to when COVID hit in 2020. For those that don’t know, bowling in a league is a 36 week commitment not including tournaments and meetings. What starts with just a fun night out with friends turns into this competitive weekly ritual working on your form, getting better equipment, and comparing your scores from not only a week ago, but years ago. It seemed like my mood was based how well I bowled that week. It’s more fun now to pick up the rock every once in a while and to pass on some of the knowledge to my sons, but it still gets to me when I’m out of form and can’t roll near my former average from league play just a few years ago. Northside Lanes in Hartford City is one of those fun places where you can relax and bowl to your heart’s desire. At $3.00 a game in Friday night, you can’t beat that price to enjoy some activities with family and friends, or to just go by yourself and practice your game. They have the old-school pricing that I like – instead of paying up-front or by the hour, you bowl as many games as you wish and then pay at the end. The lanes worked well and they never seemed to break down. There is a good selection of house balls too for those that don’t own their own. Bright colors along the alleys and rock music being played over the speakers made this an enjoyable experience. I’ve been to many bowling alleys across the state, and this is one of the better ones, whether league night or just relaxing with family and friends.
From meeting the locals, there is more to come in Hartford city. The city has put in money to renovate some buildings trying to entice a restaurant in the courthouse square. There was some talk of Airbnb’s being put in the old buildings for people to stay. It is definitely a city in transition as we got to explore aspects of a revitalization in progress. Even the beautiful courthouse was under renovation with fences and cranes surrounding the property. Although there is no need to wait as there is now plenty to do in Hartford City while seeking out one of the great Indiana tenderloins.
This is the statue of a man holding an ice cream cone from the beginning of the TV show "Parks and Recreation" that was based in Indiana. It is located north of Hartford City. The restaurant is closed and the statue has seen better days.
by Michael Tomko
find The Indiana Tenderloin Chronicles on Facebook at