Every Waxi Taxi location has a story. Not just an address, but a why. Each space our team has called home over the years has been shaped by friendships, family, community support, and a whole lot of trust. As we’ve grown as a business, so has our footprint across Northwest Indiana, with each location carrying a piece of our journey with it. This is a fresh introduction to all of our locations, as a reminder of who we are, how we got here, and why these places mean so much to us.
Chesterton: Where It All Took Shape
Chesterton became home thanks to what I lovingly call peer pressure. My friend Milissa Beale of Beale Pottery, a woman with seemingly endless talents, insisted that I needed a tiny room that had opened up in the Main Street building where her shop lived. At the time, I was five years into doing home visits, and for the first time, all three of my kids were attending Discovery Charter School. I was in Chesterton every day, bouncing between waxing appointments, school drop-offs, and pick-ups. The idea of having a place to land in between, rather than sitting in parking lots or driving home, suddenly made a lot of sense.
For $150 a month, that 8×10 room became my “office.” I had absolutely zero intention of seeing clients there…but they had other ideas. Once they found out I had a place, they started asking if they could come to me instead. I truly never expected that! Before I knew it, that tiny room became the hub of The Waxi Taxi LLC. Within a year, we outgrew it and moved across the hall to a slightly larger space. We were still upstairs, and yes, we were separated from people dining at Albanos by nothing more than a curtain. It was equal parts chaotic and magical.
During those years, I watched so many businesses take their first steps in that same building. Running Vines Winery, Albano’s Pasta, Real Food Blends, and Chelle’s Boutique & Garage all began or expanded there. Who knew that old little building would become the launching point for so many successful local businesses? After eight years, the building owner chose to go a different direction, and we all shifted. Running Vines moved across the street, Albano’s headed to Valparaiso, and we found our current home at the corner of Calumet and Indiana.
Chesterton is the smallest town where we have a location, but it is by far our busiest. Duneland shows up for its small business community in a big way, and that sense of heart is exactly why we’re still here.
Michigan City: Love At Second Sight
I’ve always had a soft spot for Michigan City. After my second daughter was born, our 980-square-foot home in Valparaiso started feeling very small. While searching for something bigger, we stumbled upon an adorable house just outside the Michigan City limits on five acres surrounded by woods. I knew almost nothing about Michigan City beyond the outlets, like so many people. Living there completely changed my perspective.
Our new house had it all: woods, beach access, New Buffalo nearby, and the conveniences and diversity of a small city. I even watched Shady Creek Winery being built down the road. We became close friends with the family we bought the house from, Kim and Scott Yettaw, which is something that rarely happens. I also grew a full-blown chicken obsession, at one point owning seventy-five of them! I learned firsthand that Michigan City is a wonderful place to live and work.
After seven years and another baby, I started feeling isolated. I knew we needed more community, so we moved. However, I also knew I wasn’t done with Michigan City. Years later, when my oldest decided to attend Marquette High School, I was driving to Michigan City daily from Ogden Dunes. I fell in love with the character of Franklin Street, and knew this was where Waxi Taxi needed to be next.
After tracking down the building owner, Bob, I made my pitch, which was essentially begging him to let me rent one of his spaces and keep it affordable. In true Bob fashion, he gave up his own office so I could move in. That selflessness was the start of Waxi Taxi Michigan City. I moved into 619 Franklin, which at the time housed one of Bob’s businesses, Pubco Publishing. After about a year, he moved the business to another space, and it was just me in that big old building. I swapped to the fabulous room we are currently in, while again watching many other businesses take off, grow, and outgrow their space in 619.
What started as one Friday a week, sitting at my desk from 8 am to 8 pm, seeing one or two clients, grew into a seven-day-a-week location with three specialists and hundreds of clients. In 2026, we’ll celebrate ten years in Michigan City, and we can’t wait to celebrate with the community that helped make it possible. Watch for a special celebration later this year!
Crown Point: Coming Full Circle
Some stories take decades to unfold, and Crown Point has been quietly part of mine since 1990, when my family moved from Oak Lawn, Illinois, to Cedar Lake. We often visited the historic courthouse, which felt like more than a building. It was a gathering place and a symbol of beginnings. Several members of my family were married there in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, making it deeply personal long before I ever imagined working there.
After cosmetology school, I began my career at We Got The Look in Crown Point, where I learned how to serve clients and truly fell in love with this industry. I later moved to House of Bianco, where my career continued to grow, including working with Edda Taylor, the first business to call the courthouse home. She even took my maternity photos when I was pregnant with my first daughter. From there, I spent years in Hobart, building confidence, refining my skills, and growing a loyal Lake County clientele.
Opening a salon in Crown Point, specifically in the courthouse, had been on my personal to-do list for nearly twenty years. When Molly, who lives in Crown Point, joined our team in 2024, the timing finally felt right. Our first space was a brick room in the basement behind a gated doorway. With a lot of work and love, it became our first Crown Point location. In December 2025, we moved upstairs into a brighter, more spacious room, continuing our journey in the courthouse while offering an even better experience for our clients.
Our Why
At the heart of every Waxi Taxi location is the same intention: to create a space where people feel comfortable, cared for, and connected. These towns, buildings, and rooms have held so many milestones, not just for our business, but for our lives. Whether you’ve been with us since the early days or are just finding your way through our doors for the first time, you are part of this story, and we’re honored to keep building it alongside you.
