Nifong Boulevard Has Become Columbia's Second-Location Street

"We are so fortunate to have a storefront that is doing well just three miles away." That was the Peggy Jean's Pies team explaining why they were closing their Nifong shop by the end of August and moving every employee to the shop at 421 N. Stadium Blvd. The quote appears in the September 2026 Street Talk column from COMO Business Times. Their post gave three reasons. The lease didn't make the landlord responsible for maintenance. Food costs were rising. Labor costs kept going up each year.

Look along Nifong Boulevard and Grindstone Parkway this fall and you'll see the opposite move again and again. Businesses that already have a Columbia storefront are opening a second one, or a third. Chains that have already proven themselves somewhere else are signing leases. The south side has become where an established operator goes when it's ready to grow. It's no longer where a brand-new idea gets tested first.

Three Familiar Spaces, Three Operators Who Were Already Here

Start with the empty storefronts, because the new tenants are easier to understand once you know who left.

The former Fuzzy's Taco Shop at 205 E. Nifong Blvd. is now the second location of JoJo's Biscuit Co. The Columbia Missourian reported that the owners had hoped to open there in the first quarter of 2026 and then pushed the target to May. By September 1, COMO Business Times was describing JoJo's as having two Columbia locations.

The second space is 503 E. Nifong Blvd., the address of Peggy Jean's former south shop. The Big Biscuit has announced that same address for its Columbia restaurant, which will serve breakfast and lunch. Coverage so far confirms the shared street address. It doesn't confirm that the restaurant is taking the same suite.

The third is at 1305 Grindstone Parkway, the former Casa Maria's Mexican Cantina. Rosie's Tortillas and Tequila is going in there. The ownership group behind JoJo's describes it as "an elevated Mexican concept with live fire cooking."

The pattern holds across all three rows. Each building is being taken over by an operator who already runs restaurants. JoJo's is a second location. Rosie's is the third concept from a company that ran Bud's Classic BBQ downtown and runs JoJo's. The Big Biscuit franchise is owned by brothers whose family owns more than 30 Sonic Drive-Ins in Missouri and other states.

The Broadway Bluffs Pipeline

Where are these second locations coming from? A good number of them start on the east side.

JoJo's opened its first location in the Broadway Bluffs shopping area in 2025. Culver's has two Columbia restaurants, one on Bernadette Drive and one on Broadway Bluffs Drive near Trimble Road. Its third is planned for 1101 Pebbles Parkway, near Grindstone Parkway. ABC17 reported in February 2026 that Culver's had filed a permit for the south-side site. No opening date has been announced.

The pull reaches past food, too. Bud's Classic Barbecue at 304 S. Ninth St. closed after six years. Its owner told COMO Business Times in March 2026 that he was considering expanding Bud's to south Columbia. The publication said it had no word yet on whether Bud's would relocate. Treat that as an idea someone mentioned, not a plan. Still, it shows which direction one of the city's busiest restaurant groups is looking.

The same thing is happening off Providence Road. Club Pilates is opening at 4501 Stellar Drive. That's a new shopping area south of the South Providence Medical Park, near Veterans United Home Loans. The studio's location page still says "Coming Soon!" and lists pre-opening rates. It gives no opening date.

Two Biscuit Kitchens on One Boulevard

The Missourian calls this a "biscuit boom" in Columbia. Its list includes Ozark Mountain Biscuit and Bar, which opened north of downtown in 2021, plus JoJo's and a vendor called the Biscuit Center at the Columbia Farmers Market. If The Big Biscuit opens as planned, two of those biscuit kitchens will be on the same street. JoJo's is at 205 E. Nifong and The Big Biscuit at 503 E. Nifong.

They come at breakfast from different directions. JoJo's is a Columbia company that grew out of a local restaurant group. An Inside Columbia feature on the brand mentions chilaquiles, shakshuka, biscuit baskets with homemade jam, cinnamon-roll pancakes, chicken biscuits, and biscuits and gravy. That article describes JoJo's in general. It doesn't confirm what the Nifong kitchen serves, so check the Nifong menu before you go. The Big Biscuit is a franchise. A brand executive said in the announcement that the franchisees "have years of experience" and "established operations teams."

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported on July 15, 2026 that the restaurant planned to open in December, in the shopping center at 503 E. Nifong Blvd. That's a planned month, and no newer date has been announced since. So if all goes to plan, by the end of 2026 the space where you bought a pie this summer will be serving biscuits.

The Shop That Opened Here First

One new Nifong business runs against the pattern, and it's a useful comparison. The Rabbit Hole Stitchery opened in July at 124 E. Nifong Blvd., Suite G. It sells needlepoint supplies and accessories along with mahjong accessories. This is the owner's first store, not a branch of somewhere else. Owner Paige Harper told the Missourian that until now, "you've had to go to Kansas City or St. Louis or shop online for needlepoint supplies."

COMO Mahjong works out of the same space. Its website lists beginner lessons, guided lessons, open play and league play. According to the shop's contact page, the store is open:

• Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday, closed

The rest of this list is mostly operators expanding from a sure footing. The Rabbit Hole opened because the owner saw a hobby with no local store. Put them side by side and you get a fuller picture of the corridor. It attracts companies that have already proven their numbers, and it also has room for a specialty shop that meets a need nobody else in Columbia was filling.

Still Behind Construction Paper

Here's where the projects that haven't opened stood on October 10, 2026, based on the most recent reporting:

1. Rosie's Tortillas and Tequila, 1305 Grindstone Parkway. The spring plan was to start construction once the city approved the design plans and to open in mid-to-late summer. COMO Business Times still listed it as upcoming on September 1.
2. The Big Biscuit, 503 E. Nifong Blvd. December opening planned, as reported in July.
3. Culver's, 1101 Pebbles Parkway. Permit filed in February. No opening date announced.
4. Club Pilates, 4501 Stellar Drive. The location page still says "Coming Soon" and lists pre-opening rates.

Peggy Jean's is the one business on this list that left Nifong. It didn't leave Columbia. Its staff and its pies are at 421 N. Stadium Blvd., about three miles from the old south shop.

Every new lease on Nifong is a small sign of what buyers will see in your part of south Columbia. If you'd like to know how your home compares while the corridor fills in, ProMO Real Estate can help. Phebe Tutt follows these storefronts as closely as she follows the sales on your street. Get your instant home valuation, and when you want the full picture, she'll walk you through it in person.