Inside Columbia Staff

Light & Bright

Now that it’s heating up outside, it’s the perfect excuse to buy adorable summer outfits for your little ones. That can mean cute suits so they can splish like fish and all sorts of comfy shorts and tops. From sloth-printed button-ups to red bandana tanks, the options are endless at Carter’s, The Children’s Place and […]

Cutest Pet Contest

It’s no secret that everyone thinks their pet is the cutest ever. But, real talent is winning a city-wide pet contest. After combing through more than 400 entries on Facebook, we selected 34 finalists for Columbia’s Cutest Pet Contest: 10 small dogs, 10 large dogs, 10 cats and 4 unique pets. 2,200 votes later, here […]

Well Suited

When it comes to menswear these days, dressing for business doesn’t have to be serious business. You can look perfectly polished and professional yet still exude a pop of personality. You can play with patterns and try textures, mixing a plaid jacket with a polka dot shirt. You can layer elements and add fun details. […]

Columbia Restaurants

Listings in this guide are not related to paid advertising in Inside Columbia magazine. To include your business, contact us at peg@insidecolumbia.net. Price Of Average Entrée: $ – $10 and under $$ – $11-$15 $$$ – $16-$20 $$$$ – $21 and up TABLE OF CONTENTS: American Asian Bakery & Café Bar & Grill Barbecue Breakfast […]

Powerful Pairs

TOP LEFT Robert Jensen red stripe tie $135 and Robert Graham geometric shape socks, $28.50. TOP RIGHT Robert Graham geometric print tie $125 and Robert Graham stained glass socks $28.50. BOTTOM LEFT Lee Allison Co. purple honeycomb textured tie $115 and Pantherella Egyptian cotton purple socks, $29.50. BOTTOM RIGHT Eton rust and navy stripe tie […]

Cracking the College Conundrum

Melanie Prather Studer was sick of what she didn’t know. The Columbia native and mother of three sons had just successfully shuttled her eldest into his first year of high school, and already she could feel the pressures of college, ever-present but impossible to pinpoint so early on. What would be the smartest career move […]

Beet Box

To beatbox, in the rhythmic sense, means to mimic percussive sounds using only one’s mouth. Like its musical homonym, Columbia’s culinary Beet Box has created its own unique cooking beat. For the past 18 months, Beet Box — a locally sourced lunch eatery — has popped up, built a following, developed recipes and earned some […]

Fancy Footwork

Day or night, Columbia is hopping with people twisting, twirling, leaping, swaying and spinning their way through dances of all kinds. From salsa and swing to folk and hip-hop, there are places for all styles, ages and experience levels. From the 1920s through the 1940s, swing dancing was all the rage. Today, it is still […]

Building Business

Construction activity traditionally swings into high gear each spring, as freezing temperatures ease up and the ground thaws. So, it’s a great time to check in with Columbia builders and developers about the state of the local industry. In May, Inside Columbia Publisher Fred Parry hosted a CEO Roundtable at Zimmer Radio and Marketing Group […]

Farmhouse Living

A classic and timeless place with enough space to accommodate a growing family is what came to mind when college sweethearts Sarah and Tommy Purk envisioned their ideal home. In April 2018, the couple’s vision became reality as they embarked on the experience of building a house on three acres of land in south Columbia. […]

Getaway to Rock Bridge Memorial State Park

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park has long been a mid-Missouri gem. For Columbia residents, and those who visit the city, the scenic park offers plenty of outdoor fun from hiking and mountain biking to cave exploring and wildflower spotting. The namesake of the park is a massive, tree-topped limestone rock bridge that was separated from […]

Spice it Up

Some nights call for a bit of Latin flavor. While you could pick up a quick bite at a chain restaurant, consider taking advantage of the authentic Mexican and Latin-inspired restaurants Columbia has to offer. And while you can never go wrong with tacos, there is a smorgasbord of dishes from which to choose. Columbia […]

A League of Their Own

Years ago, it was football. It was basketball. It was baseball. It was the threat of any sport-related scholarship undermining academics for the sake of athletics. Connecting collegiate funding to sports bucked the historical education system. “About a hundred years ago, people were rolling their eyes at the very idea of collegiate athletics,” says Columbia […]

Removing Brain Tumors

Sitting on the sticky, white paper covering the exam table, about 200 patients are told they need brain surgery each year at University of Missouri Health Care. Whether it is benign or cancerous, brain tumors can be life-altering for the men, women and children who face the prospect of surgery. The surgery can be invasive […]

Double Indulgence

There’s not much that will win over your loved one more than chocolate. If you really want to wow that special someone this year, whip up a batch of these double love, double delicious, double chocolate chip cookies. When you eat them warm out of the oven, your heart will melt like the chocolate in […]

Capitol Ceres

The goddess has left the building. She is the Roman goddess of fertility. Her moods cause the seasons to change. And the common people of Rome identified with her more than any other god. When the 10-foot-4 statue of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, mounted the Missouri State Capitol dome in 1924, she planned to stay […]

Mental Wellness

About 847,000 adults through- out Missouri live with mental illness, according to a 2016 study by the Missouri Division of Behavioral Health. The National Institute of Mental Health indicates that roughly 20 percent of adolescents, either currently or at some point during their lives, have had a seriously debilitating mental disorder. The need for proper […]

Fit or Fat?

In the past five years, Columbia has steadily climbed Livibility.com’s “Top 100 Best Places to Live” rankings. The community has leapt from the 46th position in 2014 to 21st in 2018. In addition to recreation, schools, real estate and business, the list takes community health into consideration. Niche.com also gave a nod to Columbia in […]

A Winter Variation

In the winter, I love doing greens that we typically think of roasting but, instead, slice them super thin for a fun, crunchy salad. This salad gets a roundness of flavor from the bright and vibrant dressing and the pop of pomegranate seeds. Pomegranates have increased in popularity in the past decade for their antioxidant […]

About the Kids

During his motivational speaking stops around Columbia, through his work with children and adolescents from around the community, L’Damian Washington sees the impact he makes. When he goes back to Douglass High School and a student calls out to him and says he’s still wearing the sneakers Washington and former Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel […]