Metro Eats nears grand opening

After project delays stretching back into early 2021, the grand opening for Metro Eats is finally within sight, officials say.

The west Springfield 11-acre development is poised to add a food hall, bar, retail vendors, event space and food trucks to the multiday farmers market that debuted last year. Christina Shellhart, who co-owns the venture with wife Amy, said May 11 is the planned opening for most of the new additions. As of May 5, she was still waiting on final inspection results from the city on the venue’s grand opening plan.

She said the farmers market will be held outside that day regardless of the city’s decision. The farmers market reopened for the year May 7 after running in a limited capacity last June through December.

“I thought it would be a lot easier than it’s been,” Shellhart said of executing the Metro Eats launch plan. “It is what it is.”

Supply chain and labor issues have been major contributors to the development’s myriad delays, she said.

“Most of the delays were COVID-related, which was huge,” she said. “Weather also has been a really big deal. It must have taken us about 12 weeks to get our last piece of concrete down because of the weather.”

Metro Eats is on property owned by Tony Still of Still Investment Co. LLC and sits west of Red’s Giant Hamburg restaurant near the Sunshine Street and Kansas Expressway intersection. Shellhart declined to disclose startup costs or lease terms with Still.

In the lineup
The venture fills roughly 90% of a 10,000-square-foot building that contains room for some farmers market vendors, several food hall restaurants, including El Rincon and Rollin’ Smoke BBQ, along with Where House Bar, which will serve beer and cocktails five days a week. Additionally, an acre on the northwest portion of the property also is available for event space or overflow parking.

Shellhart said the remainder of the building will be occupied by sign company Frog’s Detailed Specialties, which soon plans to relocate from its current facility on South West Bypass.

The property also has six shipping containers that additional retail and food vendors plan to rent. All Things Girlie Boutique and Illumine Collect are among those on board, she said, adding the vendors expect to be open later this month.

A total of 25 vendors – including 10 food trucks – have signed on for one-year leases, Shellhart said. Eight others are on a waiting list and applications are still being accepted.

“All of those 25 with yearlong leases have their own hours,” she said.

Vendor rates are $750 per month for food trucks and the food hall vendors, while those in the freight containers will pay $750-$850 monthly, based on utility usage, according to the Metro Eats website.

Metro Eats also is actively seeking applications for the farmers market, which has reached 76 vendors. Its capacity is 100 and annual dues are set at $300.

Bowl’d Behavior is among the food hall vendors set to debut this month. Brandon Stockstill owns the venture with wife Brittny. He said the concept will be similar to Downtown Health Bar, which the couple has owned on Walnut Street since the start of 2021. The focus for Bowl’d Behavior will be acai bowls and dragon fruit bowls, he said, adding it will also serve smoothies and protein shakes.

“They’ve been a big hit downtown, and I think they’re going to go really well in here,” Stockstill said of the bowls which have granola, fruit and honey among the toppings. “We’re not super sure what the foot traffic is going to be like. We anticipate it to be high because at the same time there’s going to be a lot of other stuff going on here as well.”

Brently Brown will be manager of the Springfield Bowl’d Behavior, one of two locations the Stockstills have in the works. The second is set to open next month in Bolivar, and Stockstill said he plans to manage that shop.

“It was just perfect timing that Christina approached us,” he said of being a part of Metro Eats. “We had a conversation with her, and we like her vision of what’s going on out here. It was a no-brainer for us to hop on.”

On tap
J.T. Thomas said he connected with Shellhart through a mutual friend. He was at Metro Eats on a rainy May 5, continuing planning work for the Where House Bar. Thomas said it’s unlikely the bar will be ready by May 11. The bar itself was still under construction and its televisions were yet to be installed.

He co-owns the bar with friends Lee and Elizabeth Walker, who are married. Thomas said he previously owned a bar when he lived in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But after the bar was destroyed by a hurricane in 2017, he eventually moved back to Springfield.

“We just got to talking about it and it snowballed into what it is now,” Thomas said of conversations with Shellhart. “We’re trying to fit in with a rustic, industrial feeling here.”

He plans to open the 54-seat bar Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to midnight or later.

“It’s a cocktail bar and beer garden. We’ll have 12 beers on tap,” he said. “We’re trying to work with local breweries.”

One of the beers on tap, a pilsner, was created for Metro Eats by Lost Signal Brewing Co., Thomas said.

“It’s something different, and different can be fun,” he said of Metro Eats. “Hopefully, everybody else thinks the same thing.”

Shellhart said despite all the delays to reach this point, she feels a sense of accomplishment.

“The thing I probably feel happiest about is so many of the vendors stayed on board,” she said. “Some people signed up with me over two years ago.

“Everybody’s very excited to get started.”