With new restaurants like The War Mouth, Tallulah + Lula Drake – all of which have owners or chefs who came from out of town specifically to open their business in Columbia – it’s a common thought now that Cola’s food scene is on the rise. And we’re here for it.

Last Monday we attended Free Times Breakfast Club summer series talk on Columbia’s food and beverage scene. Guest speakers included: Vanessa Bialobreski from Farm to Table Event Co., Ramone Dickerson from 2 Fat 2 Fly/Wing City, Nick Hauser from Indah Coffee, Amy Beth Franks from Five Points Association + developer Frank Cason of Cason Development Group (a.k.a. the non-Hauser behind the Indah Coffee building.)

The highlights? ⬇️

🍴Chefs moving to Cola to start something new

🍴Balancing bars + restaurants with retail and services in key districts

🍴Farm-to-table dining: fad or here to stay? (Concept: Hopefully here to stay.)

🍴To keep this momentum going, embrace new things from trends/other cities

As long as Soda Citizens are up for change, experts think our food + bev scene is expected to continue evolving over the next decade.

3 min read / Free Times