April 30, 2006

CITIES OF THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE, PART 4
The dynamic district of Columbia

Mizzou town has some capital things going for it
By ALLEN HOLDER
The Kansas City Star

COLUMBIA — The doors have just opened, and customers are already lining up. Juice. They want juice. And smoothies. And what’s the soup of the day?

Soup? It’s barely 10 a.m.

Business is good at Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café, one of the many independent shops that permeate the District, Columbia’s bustling downtown. But owner Leigh Lockhart can barely find time for a cup of coffee.

She banters with customers over the blue-and-yellow-checked counter, calling them by name and making sure each one gets taken care of. Finally the line dissipates. Coffee time.

“You’ve seen me interact with my customers. I know my customers,” she says.

Lockhart is a fierce supporter of one of the things that distinguishes Columbia — its vibrant, small-business community. “This town is very supportive of local and independent businesses,” she says. “I think part of it is the size. People are used to supporting independent businesses.”

Wander the 43 square blocks that make up the District, and you’ll come across more than 100 shops, plus 70-some restaurants and bars, most of which you’ll find nowhere but Columbia. Sure, the chains and big-box stores have found their way to town. But where else are you going to find the Candy Factory (chocolate pizza?) or Bluestem Missouri Crafts or Shakespeare’s Pizza, a prominent part of Columbia’s dining scene since 1973?

“We’re a towny place where the townies want to go because it’s a student place,” says Kurt Mirtsching, the self-described “head cheese” at Shakespeare’s, just a few steps from the University of Missouri campus.

“What I love is when parents come down to a game and say, ‘Let’s go to this place where I used to go when I was a student.’ And the kid says, ‘No, let’s go to where I hang out.’ And it’s the same place. Here.”

No doubt the same could be said of the Old Heidelberg, a restaurant and bar that rebuilt on its Ninth Street location after a 2003 fire, or Harpo’s Restaurant and Sundeck on 10th Street, around since 1971.

“Columbia definitely has a college vibe going on here,” Lockhart says. “My business is all funky and alternative.”

Unquestionably students are a driving force in Columbia. Besides Mizzou, two smaller colleges — Stephens and Columbia — abut the District. But the insurance and health-care industries are big players, too, diversifying the economy in a town of about 90,000.

It all makes for an interesting visit. Stop by the historic Missouri Theatre, where you might come across an event like April’s “Mary Poppins Sing Along.” Listen to live music over lunch at Cherry Street Artisan. Or hit the Blue Note, which has live music of all genres. Toward the end of the year, the Youzeum, an “interactive science center focusing on health,” promises to attract attention when it opens in a former federal building.

Outside downtown, Columbia has a nationally recognized parks system. For starters, Stephens Lake Park has an 11-acre lake, a beach and miles of walking and biking trails. Cosmopolitan Recreation Area spreads across more than 500 acres and has a public golf course. The 8.9-mile MKT Nature & Fitness Trail connects cyclers to the Katy Trail State Park.

But make no mistake: The heart of Columbia beats strongest in the District, where organizations such as COLORS — Columbia Locally Owned Retail & Services — work to make sure the city’s independent shops and boutiques, restaurants and galleries remain strong.

“Columbia has been a locally owned independent town for so long,” says Lockhart, a COLORS founding member. “I think people really like that.”

©2006 Kansas City Star

 

Fair Use Notice
This site occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues and to highlight the accomplishments of our affiliates. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is available without profit. For more information go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

---