My Other Church Clothes open for business

My Other Church Clothes, a clothing consignment store, opened its doors for business on June 1.

Owner Constance Thornton said she opened the business when the 19 E. Walnut St. lot became available.

“It is a great location downtown and I couldn’t pass it up,” Thornton said.

Thornton said she opened the business because she lives in Columbia and has no previous experience with consignment retailing.

My Other Church Clothes is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. or by appointment.

Customers can expect to pay anywhere from $6 to $30 from a selection of shoes, jackets, sweaters, pants, capris and tops.

Contact Thornton at (573) 999-3961.

View Larger Map

Three new restaurants take their chances downtown

The Missourian just published an article about three restaurants taking on downtown Columbia.

Two of the three – The Rome and Bleu Restaurant – were already mentioned here on UpDownColumbia. The third restaurant featured in the article is Room 38, a restaurant and lounge that will open where Otto’s used to be at 38 N. Eighth St. Room 38’s website states it will be “Columbia’s hottest new gathering place.”

UpDownColumbia will make a post when specific details about Room 38’s opening become available.

The article in the Missourian also puts the local business economy in context, so if you’re interested is reading about why restaurants are opening and closing around Columbia, check it out.

Daylight Donuts planned to open mid-August

Daylight Donuts, a donut franchise based in Tulsa, Okla., is planned to open in Columbia this fall, said Manager Zaki Patel.

The shop, located at 1203 E. Broadway, is owned by Zaki Patel’s father, Shabbir Patel and Nick Patel. Zaki Patel said that the business should be ready to be open by Sept. 1.

The owners decided to open a franchise donut shop in Columbia because of the lack of donut shops that Columbia currently has- particularly in the downtown area.

After looking at another location near N. Providence Rd. and E. Worley Street, Zaki Patel said that they chose the 1203 E. Broadway location because of the amount of traffic the area generates and the proximity to downtown offices and businesses.

Zaki Patel said that after researching other donut franchises, they decided on Daylight Donuts because of the fresh and natural ingredients the company uses. The natural ingredients were important to the owners for religious reasons.

According to the company’s website, Daylight Donuts currently has over 300 locations in the U.S. in addition to international locations.

Daylight Donuts will be open by 6 a.m. everyday and will offer fresh donuts and coffee in the morning and hot wings in the afternoon, said Zaki Patel.

Zaki Patel said that customers can expect to pay less than $2 for a cup of coffee and a donut.

Contact (573) 289-6323 with any questions.

View Larger Map

Mississippi Fish Shack open for business

Mississippi Fish Shack, located at 929 E. Broadway on the corner of Tenth St. and Broadway, is now open in Columbia after moving from Boonville said owner Kim Perry.

Perry said she moved her business to Columbia because of the diversity of Columbia as well as a growing clientele from Columbia.

After months of looking for a good location for her restaurant, Perry chose the 929 E. Broadway space which was previously occupied by Village Wine & Cheese.

Since the restaurant opening in July, Perry has seen many new customers from Columbia come in. Their response?

“They love the food,” Perry said.

According to Perry, the most popular items on the menu are fried catfish and frog legs. Her favorite dish is her homemade sweet potatoes.

A typical dinner costs around $8. The popular catfish dish is $7.75 and includes four catfish fillets, fries, slaw and hush puppies.

Have you been to Mississippi Fish Shack? Let us know what you thought!

Details about Mississippi Fish Shack:

Hours: Monday – Thursday: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Friday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Phone number: (573) 814-FISH

View Larger Map

Bread Basket Cafe Closed 8th Street Location

The Bread Basket Cafe closed it’s downtown location at 220 South 8th Street.

According to David Maxwell, the shop’s owner, they closed their doors Saturday night.  Maxwell said the store had been there three years, but “just weren’t able to get enough business to make it work out.”

Maxwell said despite the great location, the building was too large to sustain by selling sandwiches.

“I think there are a lot of things that would do extremely well there, but as far as a soup and sandwich shop it just didn’t work out,” he said.

The original shop, which is located at 2101 W Broadway, is still open for business.

Dog Days sidewalk sale draws mixed review

There are mixed feelings about the results of this summer’s Dog Days sidewalk sale.
The Special Business District doesn’t keep statistical results of the sale, but they do ask businesses some questions at the end of the sale to get an idea of the turnout.
“For the most part, we talked to folks and it was pretty good.” Carrie Gartner, director of the District, said. “It rained the first day, which is always tough.”
George Wren, owner of the Birkenstock store on Broadway, said that he saw less foot traffic than last year, and because of the economic recession, people are buying less.

Bleu to open mid-August

Bleu, a restaurant and wine bar at 29 S. 8th St., will open its doors the week of Aug. 18 said owner Travis Tucker.
Tucker said that Bleu will serve contemporary American food and focus on small plates of food.

Tucker said that he is opening Bleu after gaining experience in the food industry.

“I’ve been in the industry for 15 years and I was just ready to do my own thing.”

Tucker chose Columbia for his business because of his ties to MU as a graduate.

On average, customers can expect to spend $10 for lunch and $15 to $20 for dinner.

Details about Bleu
Phone number: (573) 529-9915
Hours: Monday – Thursday: 11 a.m. – midnight
Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – midnight

View Larger Map

MU students to open Hot Box Cookies this fall

Columbia’s first cookie delivery shop plans to open its doors this September.

It’s founders, MU students Corey Rimmel, David Melnick, and Adam Hendin, took the idea from a similar shop that Rimmel saw while visiting Bloomington, Ind.

“Corey saw how well they were doing, he came back and started talking about opening a similar store at Mizzou,” Melnick said.

The owners are currently in the process of building the shop, which will be located at 808-B East Broadway.

The Rome opening on Saturday, July 26

The Rome, a home-style italian restaurant, will open its doors on Saturday, July 26.

Established in Franklin, Mass. in 1965, The Rome is a family-operated restaurant by the Colace family.

Son Dan Colace attended MU where he met his friend and co-owner Cory Hodapp. After graduating and returning to the east coast, the two decided to move back to Columbia to open a second The Rome restaurant.

Guests can choose from a menu of salads, soups, pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and meat dishes. Soups, sauces and pizzas are made in the kitchen daily and all dishes are served with fresh ingredients. Prices are about $7 – $17.

The Rome is open daily for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner hours for Monday-Saturday are 4 to 10 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The restaurant is located at 114 S. Ninth St.

View Larger Map

Contact (573) 876-2703 with any questions.

Hair salon cuts old location

The Strand reopened at 1100 Club Village Drive, Suite 105, on Tuesday, June 24. Owner Christy Huggins said the hair salon and spa moved from its old location on Tenth Street because of the larger, more adaptable space.

“It’s a beautiful building, but there were no private service rooms,” she said of the space at 125 N. Tenth St.