Gather Cola: New food hall and outdoor space coming to Columbia

Columbia’s food scene is about to get a fresh boost with the opening of Gather Cola. 

The new dining experience is coming to downtown’s Bullstreet District. 

Columbia residents can pick from nine diverse takeout restaurants all in one place.

There’s outdoor seating for eating and live entertainment.

It also will include two bar areas and pop-up retail spaces.

“This is exactly what Columbia needs,” said Garrison Marcoux, a Columbia resident. “More locations for people to interact with one another face to face outside of work, which creates a more connected community.” 

The idea was inspired by Gather Greenville, a similar venue in the Upstate styled in the same way. 

Gather Greenville was rated the 5th best food hall in the country as part of USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Awards. 

The idea is for consumers to have a variety of options. 

“The whole concept that everybody can kind of get what they want, and then have an opportunity to dine together and share and, you know, the music that they add to all the weekend activities. It’s a fun place for family, friends, and dates, for sure,” Mayor Daniel Rickenman said in a WACH Fox interview. 

The project will span about 32,000 square feet across multiple levels. 

The new food hall in Columbia will be a short walk from the city’s minor Fireflies league baseball stadium, Segra Park. 

Also nearby will be the proposed “The Lawn,” an outdoor gathering place, anchored by the site’s old Williams Building and Coastal Crust Woodfired Pizza.

Site work has already begun, with the development projected to open in late 2025.

There have been no food and retail announcements of what is to come in the new space. 

“I think we’re excited that multiple restaurants are coming,” Rickenmann said. “I think they’re going to be some more big announcements.”