Rich and Leah Callahan will open 14 Mill Market in May. The Nixa food hall is the first of its kind in Southwest Missouri. (Photo: Juliana Goodwin)

Something big is coming to Nixa — a modern concept replacing a historic feed mill.

14 Mill Market is a $3.7 million food hall and entertainment venue, slated to open in May.

Owners Leah and Rich Callahan are establishing the first food hall in southwest Missouri and it’s sizeable, with 12,000 square feet inside and an additional 2,000-square-foot covered patio. 

“This will be a family-friendly place where people can hang out, eat, drink, and play,” Leah said.

There’s a 5,000-square-foot outdoor area with artificial turf on the north side of the property. They will have cornhole and bocce ball, sell drinks out of a vintage camper and a shipping container will transform into a live music venue.

What is a Food Hall?

Food halls are popular in Europe and larger U.S. cities. The Callahans discovered the idea on a spontaneous trip to Tulsa, where they popped into Mother Road Market.“We immediately fell in love with the concept. We love that it offered so many opportunities for people to eat,” Leah said.

A food hall is a large space that incorporates many small restaurants and is a community gathering place. There is seating throughout the venue, so customers can walk up and order something at one restaurant, order at another spot, and collectively meet back at a table for their meal. If people have different tastes or dietary restrictions, they are not limited to one place.

Food halls differ from a food courts in that the restaurants are local, and chef-focused and the hall is its own attraction.

10 unique food concepts under one roof

14 Mill Market will showcase 10 different local restaurants and a bar, owned by the Callahans. Each restaurant will be a different concept, so they don’t compete. After they started thinking about opening the business, the Callahans started researching food halls and visited 17, from Nashville to Albuquerque. “They are in big metro cities,” Leah said. “For this to work, we have to pull from southwest Missouri, not just Nixa. We need to be regional. We know we have to add our own southwest Missouri flair.”

That flair includes a 2,000-square-foot covered patio for outdoor-loving Ozarkers. The venue is being built with big garage doors that can open to let in the fresh air. The patio will include the walk-up Wisner Bar, named for Barney Wisner who established the original feed mill that used to occupy this land. The bar will have 16 taps, a mix of local and domestic beer. 

14 Mill Market property dates back to 1839

The property was first purchased in 1839 when Samuel and Nancy Railsback bought it from the U.S. government. It was sold to different families over the years and then, in 1958, Wisner acquired it and built Wisner Feed Mill, which fueled agricultural growth in the community.

In 1976, it was sold and became a feed and farm supply store and operated as such for many years. Then, in March 2021, Rich and Leah bought the mill and 3.6 acres to develop 14 Mill Market. The Callahans have tried to fold in pieces of history into the new development. In true southwest Missouri fashion, Rich hand-built the tables out of salvaged oak from the historic mill.

They hired a photographer to take photos of the property before it was torn down and plan to display some of those photos inside.

They were able to salvage three mixers, a dust collector, and a grain scoop, all of which will be incorporated into the project.

Callahans have invested in the Nixa community

The Callahans are neither developers nor restaurateurs. Leah works at the Insurance Group of the Ozarks as a Medicare Advisor. Rich has worked in heating and air conditioning and is now director of training at Apex Midwest, an investment company that owns numerous Midwest-area heating and air businesses. He’s the general contractor on the food hall project. 

Leah is originally from Houston, Texas, and Rich is from Las Vegas. They met working in the Sheriff’s department in Batesville, Arkansas. 

He was a single dad of three and a deputy. She worked in warrants and they hit it off. They wanted to live in a bigger city and relocated to Nixa in 2006 because of the school district. All three of their children graduated from Nixa High School and the Callahans even have three grandchildren. She’s on the Nixa Care to Learn Advisory Board; Rich serves on the Nixa Chamber of Commerce Board. They are invested in the community and have made a home in Nixa. Because the city has been growing so fast, they’ve wanted to start a business together but hadn’t found the right concept until that fateful trip to Tulsa. Restaurants will decorate their own spaces. Each restaurant will have 320 square feet of space and will be responsible for decorating their own spot. “We bring the wood, the steel, the industrial elements and they will bring all the color,” Leah said. They will be on one-year leases, so the Callahans have the option of rotating vendors. “We love that it allows for the opening of the eye for different cuisines,” Leah said. It’s been nice because some of the restaurants are working together, buying ingredients from each other. That happened organically, Rich said.

Fresh Poke, serving up poke bowls, is one of the 10 initial restaurants at 14 Mill Market. (Photo: Fresh Poke)