"This location is lonely." That is how Sang Huynh, the owner of Saigon City Bar & Grill out on IN-212, described his restaurant to Dunes Diva in early October. He opened near the Michigan City airport in 2023, and he told the outlet the off season is slow at that spot.
From Long Beach, the line stings a little. The restaurants closest to us are on Michigan City's east side, along US 12 and IN-212, not in the walkable Uptown blocks. This year one of the area's better-liked wine bars moved out to that corridor, and the Vietnamese kitchen already there is thinking about leaving it. What happens to east-side dining over the next few months depends on who shows up between Halloween and spring.
A Wine Bar Traded Uptown for Route 12
Brix Tasting Room spent five years on 6th Street in the Uptown Arts District. As Dunes Diva reported in August, owners Tamara and Tyler Gonder closed that location in late February 2025 because they wanted a bigger kitchen. They bought the former Arturo's Bakery on US 12, just west of Karwick Road, renovated it extensively, and held a soft reopening this summer.
The timing was rough. During the mid-August storms, lightning hit a tree on the property and knocked out Brix's power and computer system just as the staff was working toward an official reopening. According to the same report, things have since settled down.
The new building is a different kind of room than the old storefront. Tyler helped make the live-edge wood bar. Next to it is a dining room with several small tables, and out back is a large deck with red umbrellas. The bigger kitchen was the reason for the move, and the Gonders do most of the cooking themselves. The menu covers pizzas in the low $20s, salads, sandwiches, and snacks like hummus, charcuterie, baked brie, bruschetta, and meatballs.
Some practical details before you go:
- Address: 2613 E US Highway 12, Michigan City.
- Hours: 2 to 9 p.m. Central, Tuesday through Sunday.
- Pours: A wide range of bottles from around the world, about 20 to 25 wines by the glass, and a small beer list.
- Finding it: The building sits back from the highway and is easy to miss. Coming from the east, it's on your left after you pass Karwick. The Brix Facebook page still shows the old address in its details, though the feed is current.
Tyler is also reported to be planning wine flights and possibly an outdoor wine festival on the property's large grounds someday. The bigger test for the new building comes sooner, on weeknights between now and spring.
The Kitchen by the Airport Is Open as Usual
Back to Saigon City. The building is up for sale, and the restaurant is still open every day for lunch and dinner. Huynh told Dunes Diva he would like a bigger space with more foot traffic and neighboring businesses, and he named downtown Michigan City or New Buffalo as examples. Nothing has been decided yet. He's looking, and the doors at 615 IN-212 are open.
The menu is worth knowing on its own terms. It includes pho and banh mi plus stir-fries, fried rice, egg rolls, spring rolls, and pad thai, and there's a full bar. The report describes Huynh as nearly always on site, joking with customers and sometimes carrying plates to tables himself. He has been in the restaurant business for decades and also owns a restaurant in San Francisco. His brother, Tu Bloom, owns Bon Viet in La Porte. The phone number is 219-999-9918.
Put the two stories side by side. Brix left Uptown to get more space out on the highway. Saigon City has the highway location and wants the Uptown foot traffic. Each owner is trading one set of advantages for the other, and on the east side, the near end of that trade for Long Beach, business in the off season decides whether it pays.
Uptown Keeps Drawing Openings
The foot traffic Huynh mentions is real, and new businesses keep following it. Mashawee Grill opened at 910 Franklin St. on Saturday, Sept. 19, according to Dunes Diva's September report. It's a takeout and catering shop serving kabobs and other Middle Eastern food. The owners are Abdou and Aysha Ibrahim, whose family owns Eastside Meats in LaPorte. Takeout on Franklin Street also works well for a Long Beach household on a cold weeknight. You pick it up and you're home before it cools.
Across town, William B's Steakhouse at Blue Chip Casino reopened in May after a six-month renovation and a new menu, as Dunes Diva noted in August. It isn't a fall opening, but if you haven't been back since the remodel, it will feel new.
The Calendar That Fills the Quiet Months
The east-side places don't need tourists in November. They need people who are already out of the house. These are the dates through Thanksgiving that bring Long Beach residents into Michigan City, all listed for 2026 by the venues or by Visit Michigan City LaPorte and the LaPorte County events calendar. All times are Central.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu–Fri, Oct. 29–30, 6–8 p.m. | Candlelight Tour: Victorian Superstitions | Barker Mansion, 631 Washington St. | Not listed |
| Sat, Oct. 31, noon–3 p.m. | The Great Witch Gathering | Barker Cottage, 227 W 7th St. | Not listed |
| Sun, Nov. 1, 2–4 p.m. | Writing Out Loud Series with poet Mitchell L.H. Douglas | Michigan City Public Library | Free |
| Fri, Nov. 6, 5–8 p.m. | "UNREAL" opening reception | Lubeznik Center for the Arts | Free |
| Sat, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Dig the Dunes Artisan Market | Lubeznik Center for the Arts | Free |
| Wed, Nov. 18, 6–8 p.m. | Mansion After Hours: Pie & Prosecco, A Friendsgiving Celebration | Barker Mansion | Not listed |
| Fri, Nov. 20, 5–8 p.m. | Live music | Shady Creek Winery | Not listed |
| Sat, Nov. 21, 11:30 a.m. | "UNREAL" curator gallery talk | Lubeznik Center for the Arts | Not listed |
| Thu, Nov. 26, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Turkey Walk | Friendship Botanic Gardens | Free |
The Lubeznik weekend is the best of these. "UNREAL" brings together five Midwestern artists, Anthony Adcock, Cindy Bernhard, Chris Cosnowski, Renee McGinnis, and Ari Norris, who work with illusion, hyperrealism, and trompe l'oeil. The center describes their work as examining "the unstable boundary between what we see and what we believe." The Friday reception is one of the center's free First Friday evenings, with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.
The next morning, Dig the Dunes and Treasures by the Tide put on their fourth annual Artisan Market. More than 30 makers fill all three of the center's galleries. Food trucks Travelin' Tom's Coffee and Brisket Bisket Jr. will be outside, there's a cash bar with beer, wine, and mimosas, and Anderson Window will run a craft activity. Vendors include Birds of the Dunes, The Glass Phoenix, Heaven Help Us Pastries, Rhinoglass, and Wildflower Stitches by Mariah. Details are on the market's Eventbrite page. For a second look at the exhibit, the curator's gallery talk on Nov. 21 is the date to plan around.
The market wraps at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, and Brix is open Tuesday through Sunday starting at 2. On the same Saturday you can pick up dinner on Franklin Street before heading home, or drive out IN-212 to Saigon City for pho, open every day for lunch and dinner.
Mark Hull has watched shoreline towns go quiet every November for most of his life. He grew up in Dune Acres and knows which drives along US 12 and IN-212 stay worth making after Labor Day. If you're thinking about what the quieter months look like from a house on Lake Shore Drive, or how they figure into your next move, Mark Hull is glad to talk it over. Book a complimentary consultation.
