Restaurants are finally starting to see diners return.

The meals aren’t fancy — and business is far what it was before the recession sent the nation spiraling — but restaurateurs big and small say they’re breathing a tentative sigh of relief as tables fill up.

Few restaurant chains release sales by month, but data from market research firm NPD Group showed the measure rose climbed for five of the past eight weeks at nearly four dozen fast-food and family-style restaurant chains.

In related news, Jeffersonville is home to a trio of new restaurants.

Small business lending in Indiana is up strongly in 2010.

WellPoint profits were up 51% in the first quarter.

Northwest Indiana’s air quality still stinks.