A new change is happening in Nixa, the old grain mill on Mt. Vernon street is getting updated into a food hall. Rich and Leah Callahan, business owners and residents in Nixa hope for the establishment to open this upcoming November.
“We are building a 12,000-square-foot food hall combined with an outdoor dining patio, bocce ball courts, large outdoor courtyard to enjoy corn hole, summer movies and local bands,” Leah said. “We are actually developing a space for community seating as well as bringing 10 restaurants to Nixa who will have a permanent indoor location in the food hall.”
The food hall is meant to bring the community together as a whole.
“I had actually visited Tulsa, Oklahoma, early last year and found a food hall there called Mother Road Market,” Leah said. “After seeing the concept, my husband and I talked the whole way home about how we could bring something like that to life. We saw how Nixa brought the community together not just for eating but also as a place that would offer families the chance to connect with other families.”
Freshman Andrew Durbin said he is excited for the new change.
“I really like food, so that is what I’m most excited about,” Durbin said. “When I usually go out to eat with my friends or family, I go somewhere in Springfield. Nixa also doesn’t have the same variety of food Springfield has. This will be really convenient.”
There will be a wide variety of food served at the food hall.
“[We hope to serve] soul foods, tacos, coffee shops, mac ’n cheese bowls, burgers and sliders,” Leah said. “Also plenty of dessert options like waffles, crepes, milkshakes and a bakery.”
The Callahans have been working to promote their upcoming business to the community.
“My husband and I are already both very active in the Nixa business community as well as our local chamber and we plan to continue those relationships and participate with local sponsorships of sporting events and fundraising opportunities,” Leah said. “We also will be scheduling themed activities for the middle of the week to draw foot traffic as well as local bands. Social media activity including Facebook and Instagram will be very active as well as any other opportunities to participate in.”
Junior Dalton Brown is looking forward to the new changes.
“There is not a whole lot of stuff to do in Nixa,” Brown said. “There is the X-Center and the parks but those get boring after a while. This will be a huge step up for the Nixa community compared to what it is now. I am most excited about the local bands part.”
Starting a business takes commitment and time.
“I would highly recommend anyone going into a small business of their own to first communicate openly and transparently with the city that you are building in,” Leah said. “Secondly, I would take the time to do as much research in advance not only on paper, but doing in-person and physical research assessing how similar businesses operate and reaching out to their owners or general managers to seek their advice on what works and what may not be working. Finally, before going into business you will want to make sure that you do not have any outstanding debts and that you have a good amount of savings to afford the start-up of a new business as it often takes many months for a loan to be approved, and you will need your own out of pocket money to get started.”