Chicken bacon and swiss served at The Square in Columbia City. Photos by Loren Shaum.

By Loren Shaum
InkFreeNews Columnist

Whitley County has three main towns: Churubusco, South Whitley and the county seat, Columbia City. All of these towns have been explored in the past and all have their own virtues.

Columbia City is the hub of the county. With a population of around 9,000, it’s the home of interesting restaurants, a microbrewery, antique stores, the county historical museum and an aquatic park. It also hosts the Whitley County Fair and the Whitley County Farmer’s Market.  

Whitley County Farmers

Two of my favorite farms are Old Loon Farm and Goldwood Gardens. Both farms’ stories are featured in my book, Farmers in Lake Country, and both have stalls at the farmer’s market.

Located between Old and Loon Lake, Jane and Chuck Loomis farm 12 of their 32 acres and offer fresh produce (including unusual items like celeriac and tatsoi), honey, jams, granola and baked goods at the market. Labeled “Jane’s Grains,” Jane’s nine-grain bread is worth the trip if you can get there early enough to get a loaf.

On occasion, she has baked a peasant loaf and an unusual Kalamata olive and einkorn bread. Einkorn flour is an ancient grain and like farro and spelt, it is hulled wheat that has far less gluten and is more nutritional than traditional whole wheat.  For sure, you’ll not find anything like this in Lake Country.

Several years ago, Canda and Ron Goldwood purchased acreage on a dead-end road that had been in Ron’s family for years. They turned the land into an organic, community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm. Canda says: “The farm provides A to Z – asparagus to zucchini!”

She has spent over 40-years in the food business and still works special events at Noa Noa Wood Grill and Shushi Bar in Warsaw and has partnered with me on a couple of charity events.  

For one event, she supplied a bushel or more of zucchini squash for an appetizer dish, called zucchini ripieni (recipe in Farmers in Lake Country). We served this popular Mediterranean favorite to over 300 at that event.

The small kitchen area at The Nook in Columbia City serves hundreds every day.

On the Courthouse Square

Columbia City’s courthouse square is the hub of Whitley County. The Square Restaurant and Chapman’s Brewery are two top-notch joints.  But there are also Pickles Café, Columbia City Nutrition, Blue Moon Bakery, a World War Memorial, and myriad of retail shops.

During summer on Saturdays, the courthouse grass hosts the Whitley County Farmer’s Market. For six months, people come from afar to shop at as many as 55 vendors. Starting on the first Saturday in May, this splendid, outdoor market offers artwork, woodwork, fresh produce, meats, poultry, eggs, plants and baked goods. There are always local musicians performing, and on occasion, I’ve done cooking demonstrations featuring fresh produce and meats grown by these farmers.

The Square Restaurant

The menu at this comfortable location across from the Courthouse receives great reviews, which caught our attention. There are twelve starters, and the onion rings are among the best! Coated with a fantastic breading, our waitress advised: “Many customers just eat the breading and leave the onion.” The nachos are also highly recommended.

There’s always a daily soup, and sandwiches and burgers are plentiful. They also offer a ‘lighter fare’ listing where I noticed the chicken salad sandwich. Very nice, I would have it again.  

The salad section includes eight choices – all large – except the house salad, which I opted for. All the many dressings are house-made, and my salad was just right with a light Italian vinaigrette.  

They also have a unique menu section called “For Kids and Seniors”.  Clever idea!

The dinner section includes everything anyone might want for an entree, but the ribs receive great reviews.

More on the Square

In the same block as The Square is Blue Moon Bakery. It’s a family-owned, small-batch bakery that baked bread and other items for store sale – especially during the farmer’s market.

Another popular location is Chapman’s Brewing Company. Founded in 2012, they now offer six different craft brews.  Headquartered in Angola, it has multiple locations and features robust ales and stouts.

Off the Square

A block west is The Nook. This hole-in-the-wall is about 10-feet wide with a counter, a couple of small tables and behind the counter, a very small kitchen. Since 1971, the Johnston’s have been serving coney-style treats to customers, daily.  Besides the classic Coney dog, there are corn dogs, burgers, tenderloins, chicken, fish and, of course, onion rings. We can attest that the burgers and dogs are notably exceptional.

A block north is the Vintage Antique Marketplace in the old First Presbyterian Church. There’s everything in here including the kitchen sink – even a wooden one.

In the church basement is The Church Café and Gathering Place. This quaint spot seats upwards to 50 people and has a major coffee bar that features Country Roads coffee and many types of mochas and lattes. There are also six types of pre-bottled, kombucha tea flavors.  And, you can get a bottle of Larry’s Old-Fashioned Root Beer. Some come just for a six-pack.

The menu features nine unique paninis, and you can get a half sandwich combo with soup or salad.

There are four large entre salad choices and each can be ordered with a choice of one of five proteins.  

The Church is also famous for its desserts and specialty quiches. Besides the daily quiche, the brunch menu section also offers an egg, ham and cheese bagel or a bacon, egg and cheese croissant.

Each day there is a soup special. On this day, the soup was ‘Zuppa’ and my curiosity was aroused, so I went with a combo of half a chicken salad croissant and Zuppa. Gayle, my wife, ordered the unique apple, ham and cheese panini with the Zuppa as a combo.

The Zuppa had a slightly creamy broth base and was loaded with potato chunks, bits of sausage and wilted kale.  It was delicious but filling!  

The chicken salad was as good as it gets. The half-croissant was huge and packed with the tarragon-hinted salad, provolone cheese and lettuce.  

A great way to take in Columbia City might be on a Saturday and peruse the many stalls at the farmers market, do lunch at The Square, check out the antiques, then quaff a cold one at Chapman’s. You couldn’t have a better day!

When You Go

The Square: 111 S. Main St. Phone is 260-415-6051. Hours: Open at 11 a.m. except Monday and Tuesday.

Chapman’s Brewing Co.: 118 W Van Buren St.  Phone is 260-244-6252. Hours: Open at 2 p.m. on Friday and Sunday, 3 p.m. through the week, and noon on Saturday.  

Blue Moon Bakery: 101 S. Main St. Phone: 260 415-6051. Hours: Wednesday, 6-12 p.m.; Saturday, 8:30-3 p.m.

Vintage Antiques Marketplace: 202 N. Chauncey St. Phone is 260-248-7479. Hours: 10-5 p.m. on most days; closed on Monday and Tuesday.

The Church Café: 202 N Chauncey St., Columbia City, hours, 11-2 p.m. except closed on Sunday and Monday

The Nook:  223 W. Van Buren St. Hours: 10-7 p.m. except Saturday when they close at 3 p. m. Also closed on Sunday. Phone: 260-248-8700.

Outdoor seating is seasonably available at the Church Cafe in Columbia City.