This week in 417 food news: A chicken restaurant opens its doors, a downtown Springfield restaurant changes up its hours, Indian restaurant has a soft opening, and a ballroom closes its doors. Plus, a McDonald's opens after a complete rebuild.
Chicken restaurant opens doors
Kick's Chicken, 1369 E. Sunshine St., is officially open. The restaurant planned to open its doors on Aug. 28, according to a Facebook post. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The restaurant will serve up fried chicken as fingers and wings, or in sandwiches, salads or wraps. It will also offer gluten-free chicken, mac and cheese, and various side dishes.
"We just don't think there're good chicken strips in town at all," co-owner Kyle Gitchel told the News-Leader in an Aug. 24 article.
"Like, there are so many chicken strip places, and none of them are good. And so, we just set out to make good chicken strips, and that's about it."
Gitchel and co-owner Xavier Cahoone have both been in the food service industry for more than a decade.
The building housing Kick's Chicken was previously home to Corner 21. The Chinese restaurant opened the location on Sunshine Street in 2021, and moved to a larger spot on Republic Road in August 2024.
Downtown restaurant changing up hours
Mama G's Kitchen Downtown, 210 S. Market St., will now be opening later during the week. The restaurant will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Wednesdays; 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Mama G's will be offering breakfast and lunch starting at 10 a.m. Breakfast items include classics like shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles and breakfast skillets, as well as dishes like the Christmas Morning, which features fried rabbit, two eggs, a choice of side and toast.
The restaurant specializes in comfort food and all the recipes come from owner Gloria Hairston's family. Hairston loves the reactions she gets from customers, especially when her recipes remind them of home.
Mama G's opened its downtown location in June 2024 after outgrowing its space at Metro Eats food park, 2463 W. Sunshine St.
Indian spot to host soft opening
Masala Theory, 1364 E. Republic Road, is hosting a soft opening at 11 a.m. Sept. 1, 2026." id="91496555007">
Masala Theory, 1364 E. Republic Road, is hosting a soft opening at 11 a.m. Sept. 1, according to a Facebook post.
"It's a soft opening, so we'll still be finding our feet but the ovens will be hot and the butter chicken pizza will be ready," the post read.
The restaurant will allow customers to customize their own Indian fusion dishes by choosing a base (bowl, wrap, salad or pizza), a protein (chicken, paneer, beef or chickpeas), a sauce (butter, tikka or curry) and toppings.
Ballroom closes its doors, sells to new owners
The Stardust Ballroom, 305 W. Walnut Lawn, has closed its doors and sold the business to new owners who want to open a nightclub for adults 30 and older. The Art Deco-style spot featured classic cocktails, food, and live music.
In an Aug. 21 Facebook post, co-owner Louie Michael thanked everyone who made the business possible since its opening in October 2023, and explained why he and co-owner Mark Burgess made the decision to sell. They never went into the business with dreams of making a lot of money, Michael said, but they "hoped we could at least break even" while offering a safe, special place for people to go.
"Unfortunately, after the City did not renew our liquor license, we have found that it is simply too difficult to continue operating as a public venue in the way we envisioned," Michael wrote in a Facebook post. "For those who may not know, there is a 200-foot buffer requirement in the City for liquor licenses, along with a requirement that certain businesses demonstrate $50,000 in food or merchandise sales. We were given more than a year to meet that requirement, but we simply weren't able to reach that number."
The Stardust Ballroom had one final social on Aug. 26.
According to the City of Springfield's eCity permit site, Rewind Nightclub Group LLC, doing business as Rewind, applied for a food permit on Aug. 26, 2026. Rewind Nightclub bills itself as Springfield's first 30+ nightclub, catering to Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials, and will play music from the 80s through the 2000s.
"No college crowds. No minors. No excuses. Just the best nights of your life — again," the website reads.
McDonald's reopens after complete rebuild
After four months of construction, McDonald's at 528 S. Glenstone Avenue will reopen at 7 a.m. Sept. 2, according to a Facebook post. The first 50 customers who visit can win free egg McMuffins for a year.
The restaurant at the corner of Cherry Street and Glenstone Avenue was completely demolished this past spring.
According to past News-Leader reporting, that location has been open since at least 1989.
Susan Szuch writes about health as well as local food and drink for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X at @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield food scene sees restaurant openings and a closure
