Food, family and fun have found a new home at The Yard on Broadway, Champaign-Urbana’s new food hall. The establishment had its ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday after opening its doors a few weeks ago.
The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce visited the space Wednesday morning to celebrate the addition of The Yard to Urbana’s booming business district.
In addition to the unique concept of hosting several restaurants within one establishment, The Yard brings a fresh, social atmosphere to the food scene.
“We are definitely trying to strive to be family-friendly,” said co-owner Jessica Smith. “There aren’t a lot of places where you can take your family or a large group of people and have activities and feel welcome to stay and hang out.”
According to co-owner Drew Smith, The Yard is Urbana’s only current food hall, now offering options from Watson’s, Smith Burger Co., The Main Scoop and Public House 1833. The hall will soon include Columbia St. Cafe, Fernando’s and the brand-new Regal Pig Social.
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With different types of food at each corner, visitors are almost guaranteed to find something that fits their cravings.
“That’s what I think (Drew’s) concept was for … a little bit of something for everybody and not just one restaurant with one kind of food,” said Gervaise Williams, a close family friend of the Smiths.
In addition to offering a variety of food, The Yard has a space filled with a variety of games for adults and children alike. Their greenscape includes activities like cornhole, giant Connect-Four, and extra large tetris. The setup also includes an arcade for the kids and a 21-plus video game area.
Before opening The Yard, the couple established themselves with Smith Burger Co. as a food truck in 2020. The restaurant later expanded to a location in the Collective Pour and is now featured at The Yard.
Since opening, Smith Burger Co. has won a series of accolades, including The News-Gazette’s People’s Choice No. 1 Food truck for the past four years, The News-Gazette’s People’s Choice No. 1 burger for the past three years, was recognized as the Best Fast Food in Champaign by Restaurant Guru in 2023 and was voted Best of CU 2025’s Best Burger.
“Since we started, we wanted to be known as the official burger of the Illini,” Drew Smith said. “So we’re trying to work our way to that.”
With the restaurant’s many achievements and the opening of their third stand in Memorial Stadium this year, they are well on their way to accomplishing this goal.
The community rallies behind the Smiths as they expand their business ventures, mainly due to their long history with the area.
“We’re both born and raised in Urbana, so we were trying to give back to Urbana,” said Drew Smith.
Not only is Urbana allowing the Smiths to pursue their dream, but The Yard’s opening provides a new area for community members to connect and enjoy themselves.
“It’s great for Urbana,” said Williams. “It’s something that Urbana really needs — it’s something Champaign-Urbana really needs.”
