After a road trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rich and Leah Callahan developed an idea for 14 Mill Market, the first food hall in Southwest Missouri, which opened last June.

With their love of travel, the couple wanted to create a space in Nixa that combined a variety of food choices and community hospitality.

“We were just at an empty-nester stage of our lives, and were feeling a little restless and interested in investing in some way in our community that all age groups could enjoy,” Leah Callahan said.

The couple traveled to at least 20 food halls across the country to conduct research for 14 Mill Market.

The food hall offers menu items from 10 vendors, along with a full service bar. Food options include tacos, pizza, sliders, poke, waffles and more, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Among the current vendors are: Liege Love Waffle Co., Not’cho Ordinary Taco, Lindsay’s Kitchen and Bistro, Mo Slider Company, The Gochu, London Calling, Sno Biz, Fresh Poke, Abby’s Acai Company and Classic Pizza Co.

Liege Love Waffle Co. makes its waffles from dough, not a batter, with pearl sugar that makes them sweeter, denser and chewier than a normal waffle, according to information on its website.

Customers can build their own waffles or select a predetermined combination. The “Hawaiian Strawberry,” for example, is made with strawberries, sweet supreme filling, toasted coconut, diced pineapple, roasted pecans and whipped cream.

The Gochu is another popular food hall operation, serving handcrafted Korean BBQ bowls. This restaurant was introduced by Chef Leo Kim, who was born in Korea before moving to Argentina and then to the United States.

The food hall is where a building called the Wisner Mill opened in 1955 as D&D Feed and Farm Supply Inc. It was torn down in 2022 because of its deteriorating condition.

The Callahans were able to salvage some of the mill’s building artifacts, including feed mixers, scales and sections of oak that they incorporated into the food hall.

“As much of the oak as we could salvage, my husband converted it all into the tables inside of the food hall, and it’s really beautiful,” Callahan said.

Visitors to 14 Mill Market can eat their food inside the building or in a backyard that covers more than 5,000 square feet of space. The backyard also offers live music, corn hole games, bocce ball and plenty of other opportunities for family fun.

“We have about 5,000 square feet of artificial football turf that we purchased from a high school in Chicago before we opened that has been such a cool outdoor gathering space,” Callahan said. “We also have probably one of the larger outdoor patios in the Springfield area.”

No reservations are needed to visit the food hall, which has a public wifi password for those wishing to use internet.

Meeting rooms and event spaces also can be reserved, and delivery and pickup orders are available from all vendors. The campus is a tobacco-free environment, and no pets are allowed besides service animals.