New restaurant on old silo site now scheduled for late summer opening

Katelyn Egger | SBJ

The Table will open later this summer in downtown Springfield.

When sisters Sheri Perkins and Renee Textor decided to start a restaurant, they knew they wanted it to be somewhere with character that was centrally located and had good opportunities for parking. So, they picked the old flour mill and adjoining silo at 416 N. Prospect Ave. on the edge of downtown Springfield.

“This was one of the first things we saw,” Perkins said of the site. “It kind of chose us. We loved the idea of taking this area and bringing new life to it.”

The Table has been under construction since last November. With the menu finished and the hiring process started, Perkins said the restaurant is looking at opening its doors around September.

The project, which was introduced in 2022, will be 4,200 square feet, not including outside seating or an upstairs office, Perkins said. The casual-dining concept, with customers ordering at the counter before being seated, will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“We have all the way from a pastry to a ribeye for dinner,” Perkins said.

Perkins said she and Textor will serve as general managers for the time being, and they hope to employ around 15 to 20 people.

The restaurant will face Chestnut Expressway and butts up against the larger of the two buildings on the site, according to past reporting. Development of the flour mill and silo is something they’d like to do in the future, Perkins said, suggesting a potential opportunity for a rooftop bar.

With the project cost already expected to exceed $2 million, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting, Perkins and Textor said it cost them an additional $20,000 to remediate unexpected setbacks, such as lead in the site’s soil. Perkins said this added about a year-and-a-half to two years to the project’s timeline.

According to past reporting, Springfield City Council approved a redevelopment plan and declaration of blight at the property in May 2024, providing 25 years of tax abatement. The restaurant was introduced to council members as a two-story casual restaurant with a covered patio and a small retail space. OakStar Bank helped finance the project, and Mayor Ken McClure said it was “exactly what needs to happen” to the site.

“This is a place where people can come and hang out, whether they are celebrating or studying,” Perkins said. “Just a place where all people can come and feel welcome and bring life to the area. That’s what we want.”