Bring your family down to the main branch of the library. 304 S. Main st South Bend.
It takes up almost the whole block, 3 floors, community learning center with study areas, auditorium, designated Teen area & Studio 304. (A creative maker space lab with recording studios, 3D printing etc.).
Your daughter will probably enjoy it.
https://sjcpl.org/services/studio-304/
https://sjcpl.org/resources/teen-resources/
Welcome to the area! I too am a Pennsylvania transplant. Although I'm from the northeast, I did my undergrad at Kutztown. :)
My stepson goes to Clay. Although it's definitely hard for anyone transferring to a new high school, Clay is a pretty welcoming place. I think with the right amount of time and patience and some reasonable expectations, she may be able to find her group.
I do hope I'm not the first to mention this to you, but this is Clay's last year. The school will close at the end of the 2024 academic year. Most students will likely transfer to Riley or another school (there will be four next year, counting Rise Up Academy).
Regarding activities, every Monday, the principal sends out an email to parents and students with events during the week. I believe there's not much as for clubs at the moment, but things like band, theater, and other elective classes will help. If she's into sports, there's a lot of options there too.
I regret, though, true east coast pizza is practically non-existent. Other Reddit threads have spoken about this, and our CVB did a thing about the best pizza places: [https://www.visitsouthbend.com/blog/post/pizza/](https://www.visitsouthbend.com/blog/post/pizza/)
Speaking of our CVB, they also run a website called [https://eventsaroundthebend.com/](https://eventsaroundthebend.com/). It's a great resource for local activities. While certainly intended for outside visitors, their goal was to help locals be tourists in their own community as well. I'd highly recommend checking this out if you haven't already.
Best of luck with your move, and I'm hoping she enjoys her time at Clay!
South bend definitely is not lacking in pizza. I believe it was once ranked the best town in the country for pizza lovers.
for https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-best-cities-for-pizza-lovers
Bruno’s is the best.
I second CloudWalking and Bruno’s! There are lots of good restaurants in South Bend, Granger, Elkhart and St. Joe/Benton Harbor. You can also check out the Farmer’s Market, Make South Bend and the ND and south bend art museums. There is a lot going on if you look around. Welcome! Hope the move goes smoothly for you and your family.
Yes CloudWalking is great. I would also recommend Revenant. Rapha Roast, Sway, and Kodachrome could also work when needed. However, if you love food, you absolutely need to go to Roselily … best food in the city. It’s incredible.
Always has to be said, if this sort of thing matters to you, the guy that owns Sway has pretty awful politics. He was a prominent anti masker during the early days of the pandemic and has made social media posts speaking favorably about January 6. Im not one to say "Oh, I disagree with this person so I wont support them", but I find it tough to support anyone who owns a food establishment and actively rejected the local health department's mandate.
For Christmas activities:
Potowatami Zoo has Zoo Lights (only on the weekends? You’ll need to check the hours)
Wellfield Gardens (Elkhart) has lovely Christmas lights, with fire pits to warm up next to and a concession stand selling hot chocolate, cocktails, wine, and beer and Christmas music.
Fernwood Botanical Gardens (Niles, MI) also has Christmas light displays.
Also, check out the South Bend Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning (open till 3 pm, I think)
Revenant is the best coffee around here. Venturi pizza is “very” authentic and also pricey. Lacopos and Starlite are my my favorites in town, both are pretty unique and neither deliver. honestly you can’t beat Whole Foods pizza when it’s fresh out of the oven.
Can’t comment too much on Clay other than get her into a club or sport she is interested in. This will be the easiest way for her to make some friends fast.
For pizza, east coast/NYC pizza isn’t easy to find out here but I will always praise barnabys. Just make sure you go to the one across from Howard park, not the Mishawaka one. As a bonus, you can go ice skating across the street at Howard park and see the city lit up at night with the river lights.
One last thing, you have to take your husband to the Studebaker museum & in the summers they have a car show where you can see studebakers and other cars drive around the campus.
Edit: check out the Potawatomi zoo when the weather gets nicer. It’s an impressive zoo for a city this size.
Is the zoo here actually decent? I lived most of my life near Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (which received the #1 spot in USA Today's reader's choice awards this year) and haven't visited the Pottawatomi Zoo because I figured I would end up being disappointed.
Well comparing it to world class zoos like Omaha or San Diego is setting yourself up for disappointment but for the only proper zoo in a region with about 200k people it’s a really nice afternoon. I wouldn’t have talked the zoo up as much 2-3 years ago, but the new giraffe and lion enclosures elevate the overall atmosphere.
Transplant from having the Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The zoo here is small but what blew my mind was how close to the animals you can actually get. None of that barricades behind barricades stuff. It was a nice day out and a coworker’s wife has the annual pass so she can go walking safely and bring their kid. Makes for a nicer and less boring walking path
The zoo is pretty good for what it is! They have been putting a lot of money into it over the years. Its not a world class zoo or anything, but people are routinely surprised by it. I see it continuing to improve over the next decade. It is one of the many beneficiaries of the casino money and tourism taxes. Unfortunately it is landlocked, so its difficult to grow it in size, but the quality of the exhibits and the programming should continue to get better. Maybe someday they can figure out a way to get them some more land too.
I recently moved to Mishawaka to live with my fiancee and he has turned me on to Barnaby's pizza and I have found it a delight. Google maps has many helpful ways to find activities, restaurants, and also pinpoints where recent crime has been. I've found it very helpful!
Agree the pizza isn’t like a lot of places in Philadelphia. But there is good pizza. Luigi’s and Bruno’s are favs. CloudWalking has the best coffee even compared to what’s on the coasts. There are some other cute options around, too.
I live there part time from NYC metro area. It’s different. A lot different. But quaint and you will grow to like it. The Main Street has some good restaurants.
I would venture to Granger (neighboring town) for some higher end shops and coffee/pastry places. Mishawaka is cool too.
Probably not a special thing for your kiddo, but some cool/interesting places in the area. Apothica tea shop over in niles. Very steam-punk vibe, awesome tea, and the scones are pretty good too. Crooked ewe brewery and evil Czech brewery. Great food, great beer, great atmosphere. If your daughter does sports that's a great way to make friends
Grew up in Chicago and lived in a big east coast city for a decade before moving to South Bend. I miss the vast culinary scenes but I’d say Roselily, Dainty Maid food hall, and Cloudwalking coffee fill that void handily. Also no ones’s said it yet but Hall’s Kitchen has yummy thin crust with just the right amount of crisp.
I still think that Rocco’s near campus has excellent Pizza. I’m originally from Rochester NY where there is abundant excellent Pizza imo. I am also surprised that Lacopo’s Pizzeria is never mentioned. It is just a store front take out only but the Pizza is nice.
There is a local coffee distributor that puts out Importin Joes coffee - and it is fantastic coffee to make at home. Available at Purple Porch Co Op. Def a cut above the rest though Cloudwalking is also top notch in a town that previously had sparse good coffee.
Howard Park ice skating is a nice new winter holiday perk.
Also Culver’s is here. Some say it rivals In-and-Out but really it’s just tasty fresh fast food with good service. Welcome to the Midwest.
Aladdin’s has good Mediterranean ish food.
Iggy's pizza is our favorite pizza place in Mishawaka/Granger/South Bend area.
A lot kids these days have super busy schedules with activities, many of them social (like martial arts or dance or). What does she like to do?
Welcome to South Bend and to Notre Dame! I am ND staff (ND Research) and love it here. I don’t know about high schools or clubs. But pizza? I can help you there.
Here’s a few good ones: Rocco’s, barnabys, Bruno’s, and if you like yummy crumbled sausage pizza, Lacopo’s is the best. Enjoy!
Also clay is a good school but due to its closing at the end of the year i would look into adams they have many clubs and sports and very diverse ecosystem
People have covered food ad nauseam - so for holiday activities, go ice skating and get hot chocolate at Howard Park. Beautiful and, to my knowledge, the only man-made ice skating bridge in the world?
We have Importin Joe's coffee that's roasted locally and has their beans available in stores and shops. They're legit amazing and wonderful owners.
Pizza, well what kind? We have some of the most diverse varieties of pizza in the country and it's pretty great. When people mention south bend Barnabys, just Google Barnabys cockroaches and let that be your guide.
There are tons of great parks here! Howard Park is in South Bend and they have a whole outdoor ice skating rink right now. Highly recommend checking that out!
Howard Park and other various parks in the area host lots of awesome events throughout the year, so keep an eye on that!
I will also throw another vote in for the library--it's huge and awesome!
Ice skating in Mishawaka is cool too at the new (ish) rink. The restaurants around the rink are awesome and it’s all lit up for Christmas right now and looks magical.
Came to recommend this. Fun thing to do together as a family and it looks very pretty down there in the evening. South Bend also has a similar set up at Howard Park, I don't think it's as Christmasy but it's still a fun activity and a chance for her to meet people.
For coffee check out the general, purple porch, cloud walking, lang lab or sway. For pizza it has to be barnabys or Bruno’s . As for holiday activities Notre Dame always has fun stuff. We usually go out to a farm called Dudeks during the holidays and get a tree . You can also find a nice holiday atmosphere in a town near by (Amish town) called Shipshawana. Welcome to South Bend!
Chivo’s is awesome! I am from Philly and nothing around here is going to be Philly style. Lean into the south bend style, it’s good. Chivo’s, Rocco’s, Bruno’s river park.
Starlite or Bruno's have great pizza. You can check out Ironworks in Mishawaka or Howard Park in South Bend for ice skating. As for stuff the teenager might like to do, there is always the University Park Mall.
SB is definitely not lacking in coffee in my personal experience. Cat Lady Cafe is also another good one. They have good coffee and if any of you guys like cats, they have a cat room you can visit too that’s good for all ages. Other normal coffee shops that are really good are Gabrizio in Niles (small drive), Caffé Capriccio in granger, Sway in SB, Java Cafe in SB, and Chicory Cafe in SB and Mishawaka to name a couple.
I’ve lived in the area for nearly my whole life; grade school age in South Bend, middle/high school in Elkhart, and once again moved back-and-forth between the two as a young adult. Shortly after starting a family 20 years ago, I moved to Mishawaka, which is situated in-between South Bend and Elkhart. Out of all the territory I’ve covered in this area, I prefer Mishawaka hands-down. South Bend can be spotty, with many of its nice neighborhoods immediately flanked by its not-so nice ones. It has definitely been improving over the last decade, especially throughout downtown and the near-university area known as “Eddie Street Commons.” Most of the major shopping outlets are located in Mishawaka though, neighboring South Bend’s northeast side. To the north/northeast of Mishawaka is Granger, which is predominantly more of a county/suburban residential area, but also shares in some of the shopping locations that spills over from Mishawaka. I would say that Mishawaka represents more of the traditional, “every-town U.S.A.” area, with solid neighborhoods, schools, and lots of parks. I’m biased because thats my personal preference, so I don’t say as much in order to denigrate South Bend as I do to brag about Mishawaka. Both South Bend and Mishawaka have some really great locally owned restaurants, with my current personal favorite being “Vinyl Tap” in downtown Mishawaka. Nearly all of the local pizza joints make a good pie with their own unique characteristics, so you’ve got plenty of pizzas to try before you settle on the place you prefer. You can’t go wrong with any of the Bruno’s locations, but I prefer their thin crust as their regular is pretty heavy-duty. Mimo’s in Mishawaka has been our go-to pizza place lately, but I know we need to venture out and try some of the great places in South Bend, too. For live entertainment, the biggest forums in the area are The Lerner Theater in downtown Elkhart and the Morris Performing Arts Center in downtown South Bend. (Colloquially known as “The Lerner” and “Morris”). The South Bend Symphony orchestra resides at the Morris, and is top notch. Both theaters are home to performances by local ballet companies, and also feature touring/nationwide music & entertainment acts regularly. (Plus, Chicago is only about an hour & 45 minutes away). Good luck to you!
Seconding Venturi for pizza in Goshen. You should also try the local spots and see what you like -- folks all have their favorites, but Barnaby's, Polito's, Starlite, Bruno's, and Rocco's (among others) are very popular with their own crowds.
Lots of choices for coffee. I prefer The General (sitting there right now), but you've also got Chicory Cafe (it's a meh from me), Sway (good but expensive), Cloud Walking, and Java.
For Christmas activities, check out ice skating at either/both Howard Park or the park on the river in Mishawaka (name is escaping me). Christmas lights at Winding Brook are fun but maybe a little young for a 15 year old kid. Ditto the guy's house way out past Granger. Check out South Bend Venues, Parks, and Arts -- good resource for things going on year-round, as well as Christmas.
It's not as much of a problem as it used to be but folks still crap on South Bend. Ignore that and experience it for yourself. I was very down on it when we moved here 11 years ago and now I'm perfectly happy to call it home -- the only thing it's missing is the friends and family we moved away from.
Mishawaka's park on the river--Central Park/The Mill
The river walk is beautiful and has lots of cozy places to sit back and relax out read if your daughter likes reading and beautiful scenery
Another great place to go with the whole family is Fiddlers Hearth on a Friday evening! Live Irish music, wonderful atmosphere, better food, and you can meet some nice locals.
The Morris Civic Theater also hosts traveling Broadway shows and other acts that are first class at a good price.
Catch a Notre Dame hockey game as well. $12 tickets for division one hockey. You can't beat that!
If you're upper, upper middle class or rich you'll be in good company or at least act like it. We moved from the west coast and maybe it's a Midwest thing, but people are outwardly rude, aggressive and materialistic.
We are new here also moved in December of last year. Clay high school is going to be closing down at the end of the school year. My kids were going to Washington Highschool. I took them out and enrolled them into a Charter school.
Welcome to South Bend! I’m originally from Dowagiac, Mi…about an hour’s drive North, but we’ve been here for almost 30 years…it’s home, and all three of our grown sons were born here. I’m not too familiar with the Northside of town where Clay is, as we live on the south east side near twykingham, and all of my children graduated from Riley. But, like most high schools, hopefully your daughter will find her friend group, and be just fine with a little time.
As far as activities are concerned, there’s plenty, as my son’s are always finding neat things to do while my main stops are Walgreens, Kroger, and the post office. Lol but, where I love ordering pizza from is Bruno’s! Delicious!
Coffee: For those who are actually bonafide coffee snobs, then the only option is roasting it oneself. To that end, SB is super fortunate to have an excellent green-bean importer/distributor that also does small local sales. Checkout the many excellent offerings at Theta Ridge Importers, [https://thetaridgecoffee.com/](https://thetaridgecoffee.com/)
For those that didn't know, home roasting small batches is actually pretty easy for excellent results, provided one has a warm well-ventilated location.
Welcome :) I moved when I was your daughter's age and it can be very rough (I moved in OCT 2008). The most that you can do on that front is be there for her. Hopefully she gets settled in quickly.
The Botanical Gardens around the area are always a good walk around during this time of year. Howard Park is also a nice park and there are restaurants around it that are yummy.
If you're willing to take a drive (\~40min), St Joseph, MI has two amazing coffee shops, Infusco and Forte. There's also Kilwins Chocolate Kitchen right across the street from Forte. That street, State St, is a nice walk and has other restaurants and shops around. I take my husband and kiddo there every once in a while and it's always nice quality time.
As far as where to eat in SB, I've been here 2 1/2 yrs and still haven't tried all the places. A bit pricey, Evil Czech has a nice brunch buffet. Best sushi, if you like it, is Toyo Grill over near Cinemark. If you like Italian, Cosimo & Susie's - A Bit of Italy is delicious. you ***will*** wait quite a while, but the food is delicious. It's tucked away in a strip mall, but the GPS directions will get you there.
From Philly and lived in South Bend for years. I tried almost every pizza place in the city at the time. The thing for you that will ring closest to home is Yummy Pizza in Granger. [Yummy Pizza](https://yummypizzagranger.com)
Suggestions of Bruno’s and Barnaby’s will probably be far from what you are looking for. There is also a really good pizza place in Michigan City called Stop 50 which has awesome wood fired pizza. [Stop 50](https://stop50woodfiredpizzeria.com)
I’m not much of a coffee fiend but I believe people really loved Chicory Cafe.
Other awesome food places to try would be Corndance (and the owners other restaurants), Cafe Navarre, Iechyd Da, South Side Diner in Goshen, and the South Bend Farmers Market.
As for Christmas things to do take the South Shore into Chicago, ice skate at the Ribbon at Magey Daley Park (prefer this over Millennium Park’s rink which is small), go to the Walnut Room at Macys if you can get in, etc. As far as South Bend things to do the biggest suggestion is go to a tree farm in Elkhart or East of it and cut down your own tree.
Cloud Walking Cafe should check a few of those boxes! They make coffee and chocolate, both of which are made in-house from beans they source themselves (you can even see the roaster, it’s pretty cool!). They also make all their own syrups and create specialty lattes, etc.
Also in the collective is a lady who makes macaroons and another who does sourdough bread and pastries. Most days they do food service during the day, which is currently hot dogs (the fanciest hot dogs you’ve ever had).
And on Fridays (at least right now) they’re doing fresh pizza nights (also very fancy pizza) and they have craft beer and cocktails.
Plus the space is really cool and they’ve become an unofficial safe space for a lot of minorities and LGBTQ, simply because they’re a very welcoming environment.
If she likes ice skating then you should check out Howard park in South Bend. I always enjoyed going to eat at Tippecanoe Place during the holiday season- it’s a beautiful old mansion in SB, the farmer’s market is pretty cool as well. The state park in Angola has a Toboggan run and Swiss Valley in Michigan has skiing. Enjoy South Bend- it’s a neat place
Bring your family down to the main branch of the library. 304 S. Main st South Bend. It takes up almost the whole block, 3 floors, community learning center with study areas, auditorium, designated Teen area & Studio 304. (A creative maker space lab with recording studios, 3D printing etc.). Your daughter will probably enjoy it. https://sjcpl.org/services/studio-304/ https://sjcpl.org/resources/teen-resources/
Seconding the library! We go almost weekly.
Thirding the library. Not a teen anymore but whenever I go down to grab y/a books there seems to be kids in the teen room
Welcome to the area! I too am a Pennsylvania transplant. Although I'm from the northeast, I did my undergrad at Kutztown. :) My stepson goes to Clay. Although it's definitely hard for anyone transferring to a new high school, Clay is a pretty welcoming place. I think with the right amount of time and patience and some reasonable expectations, she may be able to find her group. I do hope I'm not the first to mention this to you, but this is Clay's last year. The school will close at the end of the 2024 academic year. Most students will likely transfer to Riley or another school (there will be four next year, counting Rise Up Academy). Regarding activities, every Monday, the principal sends out an email to parents and students with events during the week. I believe there's not much as for clubs at the moment, but things like band, theater, and other elective classes will help. If she's into sports, there's a lot of options there too. I regret, though, true east coast pizza is practically non-existent. Other Reddit threads have spoken about this, and our CVB did a thing about the best pizza places: [https://www.visitsouthbend.com/blog/post/pizza/](https://www.visitsouthbend.com/blog/post/pizza/) Speaking of our CVB, they also run a website called [https://eventsaroundthebend.com/](https://eventsaroundthebend.com/). It's a great resource for local activities. While certainly intended for outside visitors, their goal was to help locals be tourists in their own community as well. I'd highly recommend checking this out if you haven't already. Best of luck with your move, and I'm hoping she enjoys her time at Clay!
Try Yummy Pizza in Granger
South bend definitely is not lacking in pizza. I believe it was once ranked the best town in the country for pizza lovers. for https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-best-cities-for-pizza-lovers Bruno’s is the best.
Most pizza restaurants per capita in the US, I thought.
Still not enough.
Rocco’s is my favorite. Then I would say South Bend Barnanby’s and then Bruno’s. All are great though and could be in any order
Too much bread, too little sauce although it is pretty good.
Ask for thin crust and extra sauce. It is better that way in my opinion too.
I second CloudWalking and Bruno’s! There are lots of good restaurants in South Bend, Granger, Elkhart and St. Joe/Benton Harbor. You can also check out the Farmer’s Market, Make South Bend and the ND and south bend art museums. There is a lot going on if you look around. Welcome! Hope the move goes smoothly for you and your family.
Yes CloudWalking is great. I would also recommend Revenant. Rapha Roast, Sway, and Kodachrome could also work when needed. However, if you love food, you absolutely need to go to Roselily … best food in the city. It’s incredible.
Always has to be said, if this sort of thing matters to you, the guy that owns Sway has pretty awful politics. He was a prominent anti masker during the early days of the pandemic and has made social media posts speaking favorably about January 6. Im not one to say "Oh, I disagree with this person so I wont support them", but I find it tough to support anyone who owns a food establishment and actively rejected the local health department's mandate.
It’s a bit of a drive (but worth it) to Venturi in Goshen but it’s amazing pizza
It’s outstanding!
Agreed! Venturi is worth the drive, and when you are in Goshen you should also stop in Ignition Records and pick up some vinyl
Omg, Venturi is amazing!!
Was going to suggest this. Also Iechyd Da in Elkhart is a great choice!
For Christmas activities: Potowatami Zoo has Zoo Lights (only on the weekends? You’ll need to check the hours) Wellfield Gardens (Elkhart) has lovely Christmas lights, with fire pits to warm up next to and a concession stand selling hot chocolate, cocktails, wine, and beer and Christmas music. Fernwood Botanical Gardens (Niles, MI) also has Christmas light displays. Also, check out the South Bend Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning (open till 3 pm, I think)
Came to also suggest lights at Fernwood and Wellfield Botanical Gardens.
Revenant is the best coffee around here. Venturi pizza is “very” authentic and also pricey. Lacopos and Starlite are my my favorites in town, both are pretty unique and neither deliver. honestly you can’t beat Whole Foods pizza when it’s fresh out of the oven.
I will live and die by (or eating) Rocco's pizza. Ask them to make it extra crispy for that 9.0 crunch.
Can’t comment too much on Clay other than get her into a club or sport she is interested in. This will be the easiest way for her to make some friends fast. For pizza, east coast/NYC pizza isn’t easy to find out here but I will always praise barnabys. Just make sure you go to the one across from Howard park, not the Mishawaka one. As a bonus, you can go ice skating across the street at Howard park and see the city lit up at night with the river lights. One last thing, you have to take your husband to the Studebaker museum & in the summers they have a car show where you can see studebakers and other cars drive around the campus. Edit: check out the Potawatomi zoo when the weather gets nicer. It’s an impressive zoo for a city this size.
Is the zoo here actually decent? I lived most of my life near Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (which received the #1 spot in USA Today's reader's choice awards this year) and haven't visited the Pottawatomi Zoo because I figured I would end up being disappointed.
Well comparing it to world class zoos like Omaha or San Diego is setting yourself up for disappointment but for the only proper zoo in a region with about 200k people it’s a really nice afternoon. I wouldn’t have talked the zoo up as much 2-3 years ago, but the new giraffe and lion enclosures elevate the overall atmosphere.
Transplant from having the Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. The zoo here is small but what blew my mind was how close to the animals you can actually get. None of that barricades behind barricades stuff. It was a nice day out and a coworker’s wife has the annual pass so she can go walking safely and bring their kid. Makes for a nicer and less boring walking path
The zoo is pretty good for what it is! They have been putting a lot of money into it over the years. Its not a world class zoo or anything, but people are routinely surprised by it. I see it continuing to improve over the next decade. It is one of the many beneficiaries of the casino money and tourism taxes. Unfortunately it is landlocked, so its difficult to grow it in size, but the quality of the exhibits and the programming should continue to get better. Maybe someday they can figure out a way to get them some more land too.
I recently moved to Mishawaka to live with my fiancee and he has turned me on to Barnaby's pizza and I have found it a delight. Google maps has many helpful ways to find activities, restaurants, and also pinpoints where recent crime has been. I've found it very helpful!
Agree the pizza isn’t like a lot of places in Philadelphia. But there is good pizza. Luigi’s and Bruno’s are favs. CloudWalking has the best coffee even compared to what’s on the coasts. There are some other cute options around, too.
I live there part time from NYC metro area. It’s different. A lot different. But quaint and you will grow to like it. The Main Street has some good restaurants. I would venture to Granger (neighboring town) for some higher end shops and coffee/pastry places. Mishawaka is cool too.
don’t send her to clay😭
Probably not a special thing for your kiddo, but some cool/interesting places in the area. Apothica tea shop over in niles. Very steam-punk vibe, awesome tea, and the scones are pretty good too. Crooked ewe brewery and evil Czech brewery. Great food, great beer, great atmosphere. If your daughter does sports that's a great way to make friends
Grew up in Chicago and lived in a big east coast city for a decade before moving to South Bend. I miss the vast culinary scenes but I’d say Roselily, Dainty Maid food hall, and Cloudwalking coffee fill that void handily. Also no ones’s said it yet but Hall’s Kitchen has yummy thin crust with just the right amount of crisp.
From one Chicagoan to another thanks for pizza suggestion. Nothing like a good thin crust.
I still think that Rocco’s near campus has excellent Pizza. I’m originally from Rochester NY where there is abundant excellent Pizza imo. I am also surprised that Lacopo’s Pizzeria is never mentioned. It is just a store front take out only but the Pizza is nice. There is a local coffee distributor that puts out Importin Joes coffee - and it is fantastic coffee to make at home. Available at Purple Porch Co Op. Def a cut above the rest though Cloudwalking is also top notch in a town that previously had sparse good coffee. Howard Park ice skating is a nice new winter holiday perk. Also Culver’s is here. Some say it rivals In-and-Out but really it’s just tasty fresh fast food with good service. Welcome to the Midwest. Aladdin’s has good Mediterranean ish food.
Iggy's pizza is our favorite pizza place in Mishawaka/Granger/South Bend area. A lot kids these days have super busy schedules with activities, many of them social (like martial arts or dance or). What does she like to do?
Don’t tell people about iggys. It just means that the people who’ve supported him for the longest don’t get his pies.
Shouldn't the people who have supported him for years be excited to see him attracting even more customers?
He only makes so many pizzas a day. Like 40 or 50.
I’m sure they hate increased business. Lol.
He sells out every day. Doesn’t need to worry about business.
Just order one.
Welcome to South Bend and to Notre Dame! I am ND staff (ND Research) and love it here. I don’t know about high schools or clubs. But pizza? I can help you there. Here’s a few good ones: Rocco’s, barnabys, Bruno’s, and if you like yummy crumbled sausage pizza, Lacopo’s is the best. Enjoy!
With the situation at Clay and South Bend schools, you might want to check into Penn, St Joe, Mishawaka, Marian, or Adam's at least if possible?
For coffee and an amazing breakfast mom and pop style go to mannys. Some of the best coffee ive ever had
Where is Manny’s? I’ve never heard of it. Is it new?
Also clay is a good school but due to its closing at the end of the year i would look into adams they have many clubs and sports and very diverse ecosystem
People have covered food ad nauseam - so for holiday activities, go ice skating and get hot chocolate at Howard Park. Beautiful and, to my knowledge, the only man-made ice skating bridge in the world?
Cloud Walking Coffee and Revenant Coffee in Dainty Maid food hall are my favorite!
We have Importin Joe's coffee that's roasted locally and has their beans available in stores and shops. They're legit amazing and wonderful owners. Pizza, well what kind? We have some of the most diverse varieties of pizza in the country and it's pretty great. When people mention south bend Barnabys, just Google Barnabys cockroaches and let that be your guide.
There are tons of great parks here! Howard Park is in South Bend and they have a whole outdoor ice skating rink right now. Highly recommend checking that out! Howard Park and other various parks in the area host lots of awesome events throughout the year, so keep an eye on that! I will also throw another vote in for the library--it's huge and awesome!
Ice skating in Mishawaka is cool too at the new (ish) rink. The restaurants around the rink are awesome and it’s all lit up for Christmas right now and looks magical.
Came to recommend this. Fun thing to do together as a family and it looks very pretty down there in the evening. South Bend also has a similar set up at Howard Park, I don't think it's as Christmasy but it's still a fun activity and a chance for her to meet people.
For coffee check out the general, purple porch, cloud walking, lang lab or sway. For pizza it has to be barnabys or Bruno’s . As for holiday activities Notre Dame always has fun stuff. We usually go out to a farm called Dudeks during the holidays and get a tree . You can also find a nice holiday atmosphere in a town near by (Amish town) called Shipshawana. Welcome to South Bend!
Howard park for ice skating. Theres also a small arcade near the park.
Chivos and Jets are my usual go tos for pizza.
Chivo’s is awesome! I am from Philly and nothing around here is going to be Philly style. Lean into the south bend style, it’s good. Chivo’s, Rocco’s, Bruno’s river park.
Starlite or Bruno's have great pizza. You can check out Ironworks in Mishawaka or Howard Park in South Bend for ice skating. As for stuff the teenager might like to do, there is always the University Park Mall.
i second Starlite! personally my favorite pizza in the area.
SB is definitely not lacking in coffee in my personal experience. Cat Lady Cafe is also another good one. They have good coffee and if any of you guys like cats, they have a cat room you can visit too that’s good for all ages. Other normal coffee shops that are really good are Gabrizio in Niles (small drive), Caffé Capriccio in granger, Sway in SB, Java Cafe in SB, and Chicory Cafe in SB and Mishawaka to name a couple.
Tell your husband about Tire Rack, their HQ is just outside of town and they run events all the time.
I’ve lived in the area for nearly my whole life; grade school age in South Bend, middle/high school in Elkhart, and once again moved back-and-forth between the two as a young adult. Shortly after starting a family 20 years ago, I moved to Mishawaka, which is situated in-between South Bend and Elkhart. Out of all the territory I’ve covered in this area, I prefer Mishawaka hands-down. South Bend can be spotty, with many of its nice neighborhoods immediately flanked by its not-so nice ones. It has definitely been improving over the last decade, especially throughout downtown and the near-university area known as “Eddie Street Commons.” Most of the major shopping outlets are located in Mishawaka though, neighboring South Bend’s northeast side. To the north/northeast of Mishawaka is Granger, which is predominantly more of a county/suburban residential area, but also shares in some of the shopping locations that spills over from Mishawaka. I would say that Mishawaka represents more of the traditional, “every-town U.S.A.” area, with solid neighborhoods, schools, and lots of parks. I’m biased because thats my personal preference, so I don’t say as much in order to denigrate South Bend as I do to brag about Mishawaka. Both South Bend and Mishawaka have some really great locally owned restaurants, with my current personal favorite being “Vinyl Tap” in downtown Mishawaka. Nearly all of the local pizza joints make a good pie with their own unique characteristics, so you’ve got plenty of pizzas to try before you settle on the place you prefer. You can’t go wrong with any of the Bruno’s locations, but I prefer their thin crust as their regular is pretty heavy-duty. Mimo’s in Mishawaka has been our go-to pizza place lately, but I know we need to venture out and try some of the great places in South Bend, too. For live entertainment, the biggest forums in the area are The Lerner Theater in downtown Elkhart and the Morris Performing Arts Center in downtown South Bend. (Colloquially known as “The Lerner” and “Morris”). The South Bend Symphony orchestra resides at the Morris, and is top notch. Both theaters are home to performances by local ballet companies, and also feature touring/nationwide music & entertainment acts regularly. (Plus, Chicago is only about an hour & 45 minutes away). Good luck to you!
Ragamuffin bakery is great and also SwayCoffee!!
Seconding Venturi for pizza in Goshen. You should also try the local spots and see what you like -- folks all have their favorites, but Barnaby's, Polito's, Starlite, Bruno's, and Rocco's (among others) are very popular with their own crowds. Lots of choices for coffee. I prefer The General (sitting there right now), but you've also got Chicory Cafe (it's a meh from me), Sway (good but expensive), Cloud Walking, and Java. For Christmas activities, check out ice skating at either/both Howard Park or the park on the river in Mishawaka (name is escaping me). Christmas lights at Winding Brook are fun but maybe a little young for a 15 year old kid. Ditto the guy's house way out past Granger. Check out South Bend Venues, Parks, and Arts -- good resource for things going on year-round, as well as Christmas. It's not as much of a problem as it used to be but folks still crap on South Bend. Ignore that and experience it for yourself. I was very down on it when we moved here 11 years ago and now I'm perfectly happy to call it home -- the only thing it's missing is the friends and family we moved away from.
Mishawaka's park on the river--Central Park/The Mill The river walk is beautiful and has lots of cozy places to sit back and relax out read if your daughter likes reading and beautiful scenery
Another great place to go with the whole family is Fiddlers Hearth on a Friday evening! Live Irish music, wonderful atmosphere, better food, and you can meet some nice locals. The Morris Civic Theater also hosts traveling Broadway shows and other acts that are first class at a good price. Catch a Notre Dame hockey game as well. $12 tickets for division one hockey. You can't beat that!
Tomato bar in Valparaiso is 🔥 it’s like 20-30 minutes from south bend. Just saying.
If you're upper, upper middle class or rich you'll be in good company or at least act like it. We moved from the west coast and maybe it's a Midwest thing, but people are outwardly rude, aggressive and materialistic.
We are new here also moved in December of last year. Clay high school is going to be closing down at the end of the school year. My kids were going to Washington Highschool. I took them out and enrolled them into a Charter school.
Welcome to South Bend! I’m originally from Dowagiac, Mi…about an hour’s drive North, but we’ve been here for almost 30 years…it’s home, and all three of our grown sons were born here. I’m not too familiar with the Northside of town where Clay is, as we live on the south east side near twykingham, and all of my children graduated from Riley. But, like most high schools, hopefully your daughter will find her friend group, and be just fine with a little time. As far as activities are concerned, there’s plenty, as my son’s are always finding neat things to do while my main stops are Walgreens, Kroger, and the post office. Lol but, where I love ordering pizza from is Bruno’s! Delicious!
You might want to check this out for Christmasy lights https://wellfieldgardens.org/winter-wonderland-holiday-lights-2023/
Coffee: For those who are actually bonafide coffee snobs, then the only option is roasting it oneself. To that end, SB is super fortunate to have an excellent green-bean importer/distributor that also does small local sales. Checkout the many excellent offerings at Theta Ridge Importers, [https://thetaridgecoffee.com/](https://thetaridgecoffee.com/) For those that didn't know, home roasting small batches is actually pretty easy for excellent results, provided one has a warm well-ventilated location.
There is no good east coast style pizza, but Barnaby's is good in its own way. I don't have much advice for kids. I lived there from about 22 to 27.
Welcome :) I moved when I was your daughter's age and it can be very rough (I moved in OCT 2008). The most that you can do on that front is be there for her. Hopefully she gets settled in quickly. The Botanical Gardens around the area are always a good walk around during this time of year. Howard Park is also a nice park and there are restaurants around it that are yummy. If you're willing to take a drive (\~40min), St Joseph, MI has two amazing coffee shops, Infusco and Forte. There's also Kilwins Chocolate Kitchen right across the street from Forte. That street, State St, is a nice walk and has other restaurants and shops around. I take my husband and kiddo there every once in a while and it's always nice quality time. As far as where to eat in SB, I've been here 2 1/2 yrs and still haven't tried all the places. A bit pricey, Evil Czech has a nice brunch buffet. Best sushi, if you like it, is Toyo Grill over near Cinemark. If you like Italian, Cosimo & Susie's - A Bit of Italy is delicious. you ***will*** wait quite a while, but the food is delicious. It's tucked away in a strip mall, but the GPS directions will get you there.
If your husband works remotely, could he take your daughter to Penn HS?
Make a road trip to Indy and see the lights on the circle and IMS, https://indyschild.com/christmas-nights-of-lights-in-indianapolis-2023/
Carmel also has a nice Christmas market
From Philly and lived in South Bend for years. I tried almost every pizza place in the city at the time. The thing for you that will ring closest to home is Yummy Pizza in Granger. [Yummy Pizza](https://yummypizzagranger.com) Suggestions of Bruno’s and Barnaby’s will probably be far from what you are looking for. There is also a really good pizza place in Michigan City called Stop 50 which has awesome wood fired pizza. [Stop 50](https://stop50woodfiredpizzeria.com) I’m not much of a coffee fiend but I believe people really loved Chicory Cafe. Other awesome food places to try would be Corndance (and the owners other restaurants), Cafe Navarre, Iechyd Da, South Side Diner in Goshen, and the South Bend Farmers Market. As for Christmas things to do take the South Shore into Chicago, ice skate at the Ribbon at Magey Daley Park (prefer this over Millennium Park’s rink which is small), go to the Walnut Room at Macys if you can get in, etc. As far as South Bend things to do the biggest suggestion is go to a tree farm in Elkhart or East of it and cut down your own tree.
Cloud Walking Cafe should check a few of those boxes! They make coffee and chocolate, both of which are made in-house from beans they source themselves (you can even see the roaster, it’s pretty cool!). They also make all their own syrups and create specialty lattes, etc. Also in the collective is a lady who makes macaroons and another who does sourdough bread and pastries. Most days they do food service during the day, which is currently hot dogs (the fanciest hot dogs you’ve ever had). And on Fridays (at least right now) they’re doing fresh pizza nights (also very fancy pizza) and they have craft beer and cocktails. Plus the space is really cool and they’ve become an unofficial safe space for a lot of minorities and LGBTQ, simply because they’re a very welcoming environment.
I don't have much to add to everything everyone else has already said, but welcome to the area and welcome to Notre Dame!
If she likes ice skating then you should check out Howard park in South Bend. I always enjoyed going to eat at Tippecanoe Place during the holiday season- it’s a beautiful old mansion in SB, the farmer’s market is pretty cool as well. The state park in Angola has a Toboggan run and Swiss Valley in Michigan has skiing. Enjoy South Bend- it’s a neat place