Two restaurants will open in downtown Columbia this fall

Two new restaurants in Columbia will soon open their doors and just blocks apart.

Ninth Street is home to the famous Shakespeare’s Pizza joint along with popular chains like Subway and Chipotle.

New this fall will be a new Mexican spot as well as a doughnut shop.

When the clock strikes noon, the line begins to form inside Chipotle on Ninth Street, which has proven a popular hit near campus.

“While watching it I saw a lot of folks that come up to the door, they see the line and they make a different decision. So what it says to me is there is more business here than what Chipotle can handle, even though they are doing a great job with it,” said Jeff Offutt, franchise owner of Moe’s Southwest Grill.

Fazolis was the first restaurant to go in the location underneath the Lofts on Ninth Street, but was open less than a year.

“This location is a little bit more challenging than what people may feel, but I think this is a great location. There is a seasonality aspect with any of these place on Ninth Street, where 30 weeks out of the year when the semester is going on, you do awesome. For 10 weeks you do okay, and for the other 10 weeks you really kind of stink, but you have to know that going into it,” said Offutt.

Michael Urban, the owner of Harold’s Doughnuts, is also aware of this.

However, he said the energy on Ninth Street is what drew him to the location between Cherry and Locust Street.

“I think in the restaurant business, it is seasonal to a degree, especially in a college town. But the way Columbia has grown outside of the University professionally I think mitigates some of those issues,” said Urban.

Offutt told ABC 17 News he hopes to have Moe’s open by the end of October.

Harold’s store should also open around that time if all goes as planned.

Right now you can order Harold’s Doughnuts online for delivery.

Moe’s Southwest Grill is hiring around 40 people.

Harold’s will have around a dozen employees.