This new downtown Columbus restaurant offers a mix of cuisines and a casual experience

Brittany McGee
·2 min read

The Uptown Life Group, which owns and operates a number of Columbus restaurants and event spaces, wants to bring a modern flare to the organization’s first casual dining restaurant, The Mix Market.

Residents walking along Broadway can order their food and drinks from the bar at a window on the sidewalk, or enter the restaurant that opened on June 27.

The Mix Market is open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and has televisions throughout the restaurant so patrons can watch sports.

The Mix Market is located at 1040 Broadway in downtown Columbus, Georgia.
The Mix Market is located at 1040 Broadway in downtown Columbus, Georgia.

Uptown Life Group, which is behind Mabella’s, Saltcellar and The Loft, typically focused on upscale dining in the past, said marketing director Sarah Algoe. But the Mix allowed the group to try something different.

“We’re hoping that this becomes a destination spot where people just want to come hang out,” Algoe said.

Staying true to its name, the downtown restaurant serves a variety of cuisines. Since casual dining was a new venture for the organization, she said, they wanted to combine a number of different concepts.

“We have pizza, Chinese food, sandwiches, salads and wings,” Algoe said.

These flank steak tacos, on three corn tortillas, are topped with roasted corn salsa, Cotija cheese, and chimichurri sauce. 09/19/2023
These flank steak tacos, on three corn tortillas, are topped with roasted corn salsa, Cotija cheese, and chimichurri sauce. 09/19/2023

There are giant ovens in the back of the restaurant where people can watch their pizza being made. Before the Mix Market’s soft opening in June, she said, an Atlanta chef came down to the restaurant for two weeks to teach employees how to make the pizzas.

“He helped us make the dough really good, and how to fire them properly,” Algoe said. “It’s pretty high quality.”

Along with the pizza, some of the more popular items on the menu include the Yum Yum Burger, General Tso’s Chicken and Dill Lime French Fries.

The Mix Market also sells desserts like other Uptown Life Group restaurants, including whole cakes and by the slice. Some cake flavors will be rotated seasonally.

One of the biggest features of the Mix Market is its 40 taps, self-serve beer wall, Algoe said, which is the first of its kind in Columbus. The wall features mostly beer, along with a smaller selection of wine.

Sarah Algoe, marketing director for the Uptown Life Group, demonstrates the self-serve beer wall and wine delivery system at The Mix Market, located at 1040 Broadway in downtown Columbus, Georgia. 09/19/2023
Sarah Algoe, marketing director for the Uptown Life Group, demonstrates the self-serve beer wall and wine delivery system at The Mix Market, located at 1040 Broadway in downtown Columbus, Georgia. 09/19/2023

Tom Jones and Buddy Nelms, the business partners behind Uptown Life Group, saw beer walls in Atlanta, she said, and thought it would be good to bring them to Columbus.

“It’s pretty groundbreaking for the market,” Algoe said. “And we’re really excited about it.”

When customers order at the counter when they come inside the restaurant, they can get a wristband for the beer wall after showing their ID. Then they can tap the bracelet against a logo that allows them to pour the beer themselves.

“It is a bit of a process to teach people,” she said. “But it’s really fun.”