15 restaurants, and two breweries, that will tickle Springfield's appetite in 2018

Springfield is famously a city that loves dining out, and there will soon be more chances to do just that.

In the coming year, there will be tacos. There will be meats, in the styles of both Greece and Korea. There will be beer.

In 2018, we'll also see a southeast Springfield neighborhood continue building its sense of place, with two new food and drink establishments announcing their arrival in Galloway.

Are you salivating yet?

4 By 4 Brewing Company is rolling out just in time for Christmas at 2811 E. Galloway St. Part owner Derek Shimeall said the grand opening is Friday, Dec. 22, with a selection of eight brews plus one blend on tap. That's several more beers than Shimeall planned on making when he and his business partners went public about their brewery in May. Look for hefeweizen, amber ale, a black IPA, a white coffee kolsch, Belgian wit, pineapple IPA, a double IPA and a basic golden ale. Bring any food you like, said Shimeall, or guests may order delivery via UberEats or directly from restaurants.

Chops is a "boutique steakhouse" planned for a mixed-use project in Galloway now under construction by the Galloway Creek Development Group, whose partners include restaurateur Billy Jalili and his family; fashion designer Summer Trottier; and her brother, entrepreneur Brent Brown. Jalili said Chops would offer dry-aged steaks, seafood and wines in "an intimate casual atmosphere." He wants it to be open in October 2018. 

Culver's, the Wisconsin-based home of ButterBurgers, is building a third location between Mercy hospital and the Kaleidoscope retail shop on Sunshine Street. It would join more than 600 other Culver's stores in the rest of the country.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop, a Texas-based chain, is expected to open a store in Springfield, the News-Leader previously reported. In an earlier news release, the purveyors of a menu that includes a "special ground beef taco" did not disclose where the store would be located. (The News-Leader reached out to its Fort Worth headquarters and has not yet received a response.) Among its approximately 100 stores, Fuzzy's currently has Missouri locations in Joplin, Kansas City and St. Louis. 

Great American Taco Company, dubbed "kind of the California Pizza Kitchen of tacos" by its creator, chef and restaurateur Pat Duran, is opening a second Springfield location. The franchise store will be at the new Magers Crossing development at Republic Road and Cox Avenue. In a Facebook post, H Design Group, the architecture firm handling the development, said that Great American Taco will be located near a new Hudson Hawk Barber & Shop, a nail salon called Glam! and a yoga studio named Swet.

Greek Belly is expected to open at 320 E. Walnut St. in March or April, its owner told the News-Leader. John Tsahiridis, part of a Greek-American family of longtime restaurateurs, said bringing the 2,000-square-foot space next to Jimmy John's up to code has taken longer than he expected when he announced his plans in August. "I'm not going to say a date when I'll open until I know," he said Dec. 19. "I’ve been holding out on social media. Everybody’s been begging for us to be open." In the meantime, Tsahiridis might set up shop at Farmers Market of the Ozarks. He's already brought Greek Belly eats to a number of local events, like the touloumbes and kourabiedes (sweet pastries) he catered for The Coffee Ethic's 10th-anniversary party in early December.

The Grilling Dokebi is a Korean barbecue restaurant in development, complete with communal-style grill tables, the Springfield Business Journal reported. Cosmo Kwon, a part owner of the Hinode hibachi restaurant, selected the former Ruby Tuesday's building at 4121 S. National Ave. for the venture. The restaurant is named for "dokkaebi," which according to the National Folk Museum of Korea are feisty goblins with supernatural powers formed by spirits inhabiting discarded household objects like brooms.

Holy Cow Food Truck opened in August, closed for the winter, but plans to reopen in spring, its owners told the News-Leader, "but we might be open in town less." The home of the naan taco serves an Indian-style menu that is about 75 percent vegan and vegetarian, with some chicken dishes thrown in. Holy Cow Food Truck's trio of young restaurant-industry veterans are also "currently focused on a new project," which they would only say "is something new happening downtown."

Huddle House, an Atlanta-based chain of 400 diners, told the News-Leader in March that it was seeking a franchisee in the Springfield area. It has most likely found one, a company official said this month. "We are working with someone in the Republic area, who's qualified, but they've not yet signed an agreement with us," said Christina Chambers, vice-president of franchise development. Chambers said she expected a store to be open in early 2019.

Indie is slated to be the permanent successor to Canvas, a weekend pop-up restaurant that briefly shared space with a Commercial Street bakery-cafe this year during hours when the bakery was normally closed. The brainchild of two young chefs, Drake Tillman and Hansel Herschend, Canvas served locally sourced gourmet food that aimed to be as good as anything served at a pop-up in a global city. Canvas ended its run this fall, but Tillman told the News-Leader Dec. 19 that Indie is in development. He and Herschend are "actively working on a restaurant," he said, "so it's still going to happen, just not as quickly as I'd hoped."

"Ophelia's at 300 E. Commercial St. will not be opening," its owners said in a recent email to the News-Leader and others, a few months after announcing that during the ongoing renovation of the 1873 building, workers found a fully intact underground vault that had to be excavated and pumped dry. It would have been the restaurant's third try since 2006, having gained a cult following among fans of cocktails and small plates despite two closures. Does the very specific wording of that announcement mean husband-and-wife owners Tom and Lori Muetzel are looking for yet another Ophelia's location? "We're really not sure where we're at on that," Tom Muetzel texted the News-Leader Dec. 19.

Orange Leaf owner Curt Bartell said the buffet-style frozen yogurt shop will add to its two Springfield stores with a "froyo-on-the go" trailer in 2018. Much like Hurts Donut's ambulances, Orange Leaf On the Go will use a mobile trailer to take its treats through Springfield neighborhoods and smaller markets such as Bolivar, Ozark or Republic where it doesn't have a store. It will also do corporate and church-related events.

Pappo's Pizzeria and Pub is expanding beyond its original Walnut Street location, owner Chris "Pappo" Galloway told the News-Leader. Much to the relief of Yelp reviewers who moan about downtown parking, Pappo's opened a south Springfield location in July. But this month Galloway said he is also looking to put a store in east Springfield, along with more Missouri locations in Columbia, Jefferson City and the Lake of the Ozarks region. "People want something better," he said. "You know, they want a better burger. Whether it's pizza, coffee, beer, they want something better."

Spring Branch Kombucha made news in October when its husband-and-wife owners, Chris and Jessica Ollis, said they were not only planning to manufacture kombucha in Springfield but would also put in a tap room where the public can taste varieties of the fizzy fermented probiotic tea. Since the initial News-Leader report, the couple has posted to Facebook that they expect to open after Jan. 1. Spring Branch is located at 1200 S. Hillcrest Ave. in northwest Springfield.

Tie & Timber Beer Co. came to light in February when it filed documents to begin the process of legally setting up a microbrewery at 1451 E. Cherry St., a place subject to Rountree's urban conservation rules that City Council adopted in 1985. Since then, owners Jennifer Leonard and Curtis Marshall have made nice with their neighbors, even penning a love letter to Springfield on their website. They started demolition and construction in August. Marshall told the News-Leader Dec. 20 that Tie & Timber expects to begin brewing Feb. 1 and wants to open its doors April 1.

Van Gogh's Eeterie is ahead of schedule, its owner, Joe Gidman, told the News-Leader Dec. 19. "Construction going along a lot faster at this point," he said of the Indo-Dutch restaurant, to be located at 334 E. Commercial St. "We are really hoping for an end of February or an early March opening." Gidman, who also created Commercial Street Peruvian restaurant Cafe Cusco and nearby Chabom tea and spice shop, added that he has hired chef Joe Duncan. Duncan recently helped design the menu at Tinga Tacos and was a chef with Civil Kitchen & Tap.

Which Wich will return to Springfield Feb. 19 in the James River Towne Center on East Independence Street, said Curt Bartell, who owns the local sandwich-shop franchise and Springfield's two Orange Leaf stores. "The big thing we're imparting is that it's way different than the Which Wiches that were previously in Springfield," Bartell said. Along with a new location that has "awesome retail traffic," eight fan-favorite sandwiches will be available to simply order by name. Otherwise, the restaurant's distinctive ordering system stays the same: Diners fill out a list of ingredients they want on their custom sandwiches. Bartell plans a grand opening and charitable "peanut-butter-and-jelly" events.

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