THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 36, Number 49 Thursday, December 3, 2020 Journeys of a Lifetime by Kim Nowatzke Michigan City’s Panini Panini is known for its tolets (bread bowls). handcrafted European food. Tripadvisor hails it as “He wanted to discover everything – to try,” Ben Indiana’s No. 1 sandwich spot, 14th in the nation, said. “He was experimental with breads and other even in the top 10 percent globally. pastries.” But this is not the story of a local business. It is Ben’s “more temperate” father, August, became about its fascinating owners for the past two years, an electrician, working for 29 years at CRC Chemi- Benoit (Ben) and Sabine Bauwens. To begin with, cal as production leader at the European production they are from Brussels, Belgium. Both speak fl u- plant in Belgium. ent Dutch and French. Ben told the story Ben, now 53, earned about how his parents his bachelor’s degree purchased a cow to be as a French chef from butchered each year. Ceria Ipiat while Sa- “When I was 11, I bine, 50, holds a bache- decided I wanted to lor’s degree in automo- learn how to do that,” tive engineering from he said. “I stopped in Cardinal Mercier. at a local butcher and Ben’s mother, along asked if they needed with her sister and help. They said yes brother, were born and to come on Satur- in what is now the day. Of course, the fi rst Democratic Republic week I cut my fi nger.” of the Congo, Africa. Ben worked for the Her father was head butcher every Satur- accountant for a min- day for a few years, be- ing company, moving ginning at 6 a.m. and there with his family leaving around 1 p.m. in the early 1930s. At “I had to ride my bi- the time, it was owned cycle in the snow,” he by Belgium and called The Bauwens family in Panini Panini (from left): Tanguy, Sabine, Ben and Marine. said. “It was very cold.” Belgium Congo. The family returned to Belgium in Ben’s college program included three major the late 1940s-early 1950s. courses of study to work as a butcher, cook or pastry “It was a big, big adventure,” Ben explained. chef. Although he studied all three the fi rst year, Ben’s paternal grandfather, August, and great- he was required to focus on two for the rest of his grandfather, Benoit, were well-known, award- education, so he chose classes specializing in meat winning Belgium bakers, owning Bakery Bauwens cutting and cooking. from before World War II until the mid-1960s. After college, Ben worked for a butcher for 18 “We still have trophies,” Ben said. “People trav- months in a fi ne-dining butchering company in eled from all of Belgium to go to it.” Wemmel, Belgium. However, he fi rst had to serve His great-grandfather was the fi rst one to own his obligatory one-year requirement in the Army, special machines to make whipping cream and pis- Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 December 3, 2020 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 Beacher Company Directory e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] Don and Tom Montgomery Owners email: Classifieds - [email protected] Andrew Tallackson Editor http://www.thebeacher.com/ Drew White Print Salesman PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by Janet Baines Inside Sales/Customer Service T Becky Wirebaugh Typesetter/Designer T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Randy Kayser Pressman Dora Kayser Bindery Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is Hope Costello, Jacquie Quinlan Production also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. John Baines, Karen Gehr, Dennis Mayberry Delivery at the wheel only 20 minutes into his shift, he fell Journeys of a Lifetime Continued from Page 1 asleep. The van overturned several times. Ben suf- where his position was as bartender. Unfortunately, fered several lacerations and compressed neck ver- after he fi nished his term, his secular position was tebrae, placing him in a coma for several days. The no longer available. So, the young entrepreneur doctors said if the accident damaged one higher ver- opened his own restaurant, calling it In Den Boom tebra, he wouldn’t have walked again. (“In The Tree”) because of the large tree in front of “I could only move my hands at fi rst,” Ben said. “I the building. It was a special concept where lava had to learn how to eat – how to walk.” stones were heated in an oven. The customers then It took him a year to recover as he endured three cooked their meat as they wanted, directly at their different operations on his back. tables on stone grills. “I can’t run,” he said, “even today.” Unfortunately, he had to close the business when When Sabine came to France to visit him in the his girlfriend at the time “ran away with the mon- hospital with his mother, Ben told his girlfriend, “I ey,” he said. think I’m at the end of the tunnel – I think I’m done Ben’s next job was with an international chemi- here.” He confessed he would understand if she cal company that created paint and industrial coat- wanted to move on with her life – without him. ings. Starting out as a salesman, he was promoted But Sabine’s reply was, “No, I’m with you – I stay to warehouse manager. One of his assignments was with you.” purchasing a company car, Ben says, smiling, “I which led him to Sabine in thought that she’s proba- December 1989. bly the right one. I decided “I went to the garage of that she was the one for her father – the bonus was me for the rest of my life.” his daughter,” he said with The two were married a smile. on Sept. 4, 1992, in Gan- Then, after seven shoren, which is part of months, one of the sup- Brussels, Belgium. Today, pliers, Kemira, asked him they have two children: to work for them. He was a son, Tanguy, 18, and a employed there as a prod- daughter, Marine, 20, as uct manager from 1989 to well as a Saint Bernard 1992, traveling to Spain, named Baloo. Italy, France, Finland, One of Ben’s last posi- Great Britain, Belgium tions before coming to the and the Netherlands. United States was as head Ben and Sabine had been of the engineering depart- dating only three months ment at Vinci Construction when the 22-year-old Ben from 2009 to 2011. He next was involved in a serious worked for Entreprise de accident in Dijon, France. Construction de Bâtiments He and a colleague were in du Littoral (Shoreline a rented van on their way Construction Co.) for fi ve to see a customer. Hoping years in the food division. to save time, they were The company was hired driving in two-hour shifts, to construct chateauxes with one behind the wheel in France where wine while the other slept for was handmade. These in- two hours. Unfortunately, Ben and Sabine Bauwens on their wedding day, on cluded: Chateau Margaux; when his colleague was Sept. 4, 1992, in Ganshoren, part of Brussels, Belgium. Lafi tte Rothschild; Mouton THE December 3, 2020 Page 3 Rothschild; Pi- chon Longueville; and Calon Ségur. HIGH-PRICED As leader of the project/studies PROPERTIES department, he DOING WELL NEAR completely reorga- nized it. LAKE MICHIGAN “I led all the I did a report for high-end properties complicated con- from the Indiana line to Warren Dunes struction proj- in Michigan. High-end properties tripled ects,” he said. in number of sales when I compared “I prefer when May through October from 2020 to 2019. it’s diffi cult. The Total $Volume doubled. more complicated and technically So, I just had to look at the situation diffi cult, the bet- between U.S. 12 and Lake Michigan from ter for me.” Beverly Shores and the Michigan line. During this pe- Here are the residential sales numbers riod in his life, for properties selling for $500,000 or he also lived in more in the May through October period. his sailboat — a Marine Bauwens and the family dog, I added the 2011 data for reference to the Gib’Sea 34 foot Baloo, in Beverly Shores. lowest numbers in recent history. — because he worked 85 minutes from home. He would go to Rochefort every Monday morning, come "! " back home every Wednesday night and back to work ! '# Thursday morning to be back Friday night. ,*++ +. '1-* '++$0 Sabine’s fi rst job involved working for her father ,*+3 // '0-/ '.-$1 at his garage after she graduated from college in ,*,* +*0 '0/* '2/$* December 1989. Next, she spent a year as a sales representative for an automobile parts-and-tools Not unlike Michigan. But we only (only!!) business. How- doubled in number of sales and doubled ever, she found it in $Volume. What’s interesting about the diffi cult to work median price is that it went up. Usually, in a male-domi- it goes down with a strong increase in nated industry in number of sales and $Volume. the early 1990s. My belief is that we are about to see Sabine then an increase in land values soon, even worked in Brus- though the material costs for new homes sels as a police has tripled because we are running out offi cer in the K-9 of inventory of existing homes.