May 4—WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City officials said Flat Creek Grill constructed on East Road in Centennial Park plans to open later this spring.

The Flat Creek is located at 215 S. East St. near the Sleep Inn in the Centennial Retail and Industrial Park, the 300-acre retail and commercial development district located along East Street.

The new restaurant spans over 9,000 square feet and can seat up to 300 guests. It will provide an estimated 100 jobs to the area.

"Our restaurants have become a destination for a lot of folks because of the quality of our food and the service of our staff, and we're excited to make a new destination in Webb City and serve up our food to a new crowd of people," said owner-operator Josh Rasmussen in a statement.

The menu will be largely the same as Flat Creek's Republic and Cape Fair locations, focusing on all-American favorites like smoked meats, fried catfish and chicken, steaks, seafood, burgers and more. The restaurant will also feature a full bar, a private event space for parties and celebrations, and catering services, according to a press release.

"The city of Webb City is excited to welcome Flat Creek Grill to our community," said Mayor Lynn Ragsdale in a statement. "For many years the dream of creating a destination attraction within the Centennial Retail District has been a priority of the City Council. Flat Creek Grill and their excellent family style dining will make a great neighbor for the current Sleep Inn and other Centennial District businesses, as well as additional coming attractions we hope to announce in the near future."

Carl Francis, city administrator, said the new establishment will give Webb City the opportunity to offer full line dining to residents and visitors. The goal is to open the restaurant in May.

"It will help serve the customers of our Sleep Inn hotel, and it will be a staple for the Centennial Park Retail District," said Francis. "Directly east of Sleep Inn and Flat Creek Restaurant, the property has been rezoned to commercial, and that property owner will be starting a commercial development in the near future. There's only a couple of parcels left in the Centennial District that aren't under contract or about to be built on."

Madison Street

Madison Street is also looking busy with future dining options. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has obtained a building permit to construct a building on the 900 block of Madison Avenue. The owners said they aim to begin construction in early April.

Whataburger has plans to open up a store directly south of Scooter's Coffee and across the street from Popeyes.

Tee Time LLC will be located at the Y intersection of Broadway and Daugherty Street and the goal is to have it open by spring 2024. The attraction will feature multiple golf driving bays, pickleball courts and a restaurant.

During a City Council meeting, Kellen Grantham, a partner in Tee Time, described the business as a "Topgolf-style venue" that's similar to Backwoods Golf, a golf driving range with temperature-controlled hitting bays and food options in Republic. Other golfing and entertainment complexes have been built in Rogers, Arkansas, and Overland Park, Kansas.

Town growth

Francis said the city has seen a large growth in new construction and an increase in remodeling over the past year.

Along with new businesses, the population in Webb City has been growing slowly. Census records show the population was 11,000 in 2010 and 13,000 in 2020.

"We continue to add water hookups for new homes," said Francis. "For the past several years, we've been averaging 80 new-home construction projects in Webb City annually. Last year, that number was down to about 30 homes, but the number of building permits on people investing to remodel and rebuild current structures has also seen an increase."

A new disc golf course is being installed in King Jack Park. The course will initially be nine holes designed for amateur-level players. Francis said the equipment is starting to arrive and it should be completed within the next month.

"We're going to have nine fairways with each fairway having two locations for a basket," he said.

Recreational trail

Another recreational trail has opened to the public and encompasses wetlands, which also double as a restoration site with native grasses and plants to provide better habitat for wildlife.

The 1.3 mile trail is in a wooded area located north of the lagoons. This marks the second public trail as part of the Cardinal Valley Habitat Restoration Project, a primary restoration effort involving the application of soil amendments to enhance and restore prairie and wetland habitats over hundreds of acres in town.

The Cardinal Valley project aims to restore native grassland, wetland and woodland vegetation to the former mining areas.

Webb City has been working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for several years to reduce the amount of heavy metals flowing into Center Creek, a major tributary of Spring River. This is what led to the formation of the Cardinal Valley project.

Randy Haas, habitat manager for the project, said this will be one of his last projects with the city before retiring this year. He's not sure what to name the trail and is open to suggestions.

"The wetland area has really turned into a birding hot spot," Haas said. "I think we've found 210 species of birds so far."

This second trail officially opened to the public late last year. The ultimate goal is to build trails all the way from state Highway 171 up through Center Creek and connect to the Frisco Trail and the Ruby Jack Trail.

Francis said they're also continuing to work on the lake area off Madison Avenue to provide ample parking and allow public fishing access.