Eight kitchens now fill an Ohio building that once printed newspapers, their ovens warming rooms where presses used to rumble. For years, the place sat empty, its windows dusty and its floors silent.
Driving past, you would never guess what waited inside. Now the smell of pizza and fresh bread drifts through the old halls, and the building that once told stories in ink tells them in flavor instead.
The transformation kept the bones of the original structure, the brick, the tall windows, the industrial feel. Today, diners wander between counters, sampling dishes from cooks who each bring something different to the table.
History and lunch share the same address here, and the combination works. The presses are gone, but the building still hums with activity.
Hours slip away while eating and exploring. This is the kind of second act that makes a city proud, and it rewards anyone curious enough to step inside.
Old buildings deserve new stories.
A Newsroom Turned Lunchroom
Headlines used to roll out of this building, and now lunch orders do. Founders Food Hall is a mixed-use dining hub that opened inside the revitalized Mount Vernon News building.
The idea behind the project is simple but smart. Instead of one restaurant, the hall brings several different food businesses together under one roof.
That setup solves a classic family problem. When one person wants pizza and another wants a rice bowl, nobody has to lose the argument.
The hall also serves a bigger purpose for the community. Organizers designed it as a launchpad where food entrepreneurs can get their start in a shared space.
Opening a restaurant alone can be expensive and risky. A food hall lets small kitchens share a building, a crowd, and a common seating area.
For you, that means more variety in one stop. For the cooks, it means a real chance to grow a business in downtown Mount Vernon.
The plan aims for distinct options with very little overlap between vendors. So each counter tries to bring something you cannot get at the one next door.
Think of it as a menu made of whole restaurants. You just walk around and pick the chapter that sounds best today.
Two Rival Papers And One Big Merger
Back in 1935, two competing newspapers decided to stop fighting and join forces. The Democrat Banner and The Republican News merged to form The Mount Vernon News.
A new headquarters followed around 1938. That building became home base for local news in Knox County for many decades.
The original design featured an Art Deco facade. That style was popular in the 1930s and often used bold lines and clean geometric shapes.
Times changed, and so did the building. In 1981, an expansion covered the original Art Deco front with fluted brick.
So the exterior you see today has its own layered story. It reflects more than one era of the newspaper business in a single structure.
Here is a fun way to think about it. The building itself was born from a compromise between two rivals, which feels fitting for a place where everyone now picks different dinners.
History buffs might enjoy that detail while waiting for an order. It turns a quick meal into a small lesson about how towns share information.
Newspapers once gathered people around stories each morning. Now the same address gathers people around tables, which is a pretty tidy plot twist.
Quiet Years Before A Big Comeback
Empty buildings can feel a little sad on a busy street. After the newspaper was sold in 2020, this one sat vacant for a period.
Then the Knox County Land Bank stepped in. The organization acquired the property so it could be redeveloped into something useful again.
Land banks often help communities give neglected properties a fresh start. Instead of watching a building decline, the county found a way to put it back to work.
Money helped make the comeback possible. The project received a $1 million Vibrant Community Grant from JobsOhio.
That grant program supports projects that help Ohio communities grow and attract activity. In this case, it helped turn a quiet former newsroom into a lively downtown destination.
If you care about small towns, this part matters. Reusing an existing building keeps local history standing while adding new jobs and businesses.
It also brings people downtown for reasons beyond errands. A good food hall gives folks a place to meet, linger, and explore nearby streets.
So when you grab a meal here, you are part of the comeback story too. Every visit helps prove that old buildings can still have plenty to say.
Scoops, Shakes, And Slices
Dessert first is a perfectly reasonable life choice here. The Daily Scoop serves ice cream from Ohio’s own Velvet Ice Cream, along with milkshakes and coffee.
Velvet is a homegrown Ohio brand, so the local connection is a nice touch. Grabbing a cone feels like supporting the state twice in one bite.
The coffee option is handy too. You can pair it with a sweet treat or carry it around while you decide on dinner.
Over at SLICE, the focus is New York-style pizza. You can order it by the slice or go big with a full pie.
That choice makes planning easy. A single slice works for a quick solo lunch, while a whole pie can feed a hungry group.
Families with picky eaters might appreciate this pairing most. Pizza and ice cream cover a lot of ground when kids are in charge of opinions.
A smart move is to split up and meet back at the tables. One person handles pizza duty while another grabs milkshakes for the crew.
Just plan your stomach space wisely. Ending with a scoop is easier when you did not order three extra slices first.
Mediterranean Meets Southeast Asian Fusion
Few streets can offer tabouli and banh mi within a few steps of each other. Inside this hall, two counters make that trip around the world surprisingly short.
Tabouli Cafe focuses on Mediterranean-inspired recipes. The cafe says it uses local and farm-fresh ingredients in its cooking.
Mediterranean food often appeals to people looking for something different from burgers and fries. It is a solid pick when you want a lighter-feeling lunch option.
Rijsttafel brings Southeast Asian Fusion to the lineup. Its menu includes customizable rice bowls, banh mi sandwiches, and steamed buns.
Customizable bowls are great for anyone with strong preferences. You get to build something that matches your mood instead of settling for a fixed plate.
The name Rijsttafel has an interesting background. It is a Dutch word that roughly means rice table, tied to a style of serving many small dishes.
Mediterranean and Asian-inspired food both came up in multiple recent online reviews. That suggests these counters have quickly become part of the conversation about the hall.
If you cannot decide, try sharing. Ordering from both and swapping bites is a tasty way to compare continents.
Chicken Done Fast And Casual
Chicken lovers get their own dedicated stop in this lineup. OX-B’s is a fast-casual chicken restaurant inside the hall.
The menu covers wraps, wings, salads, and sandwiches. That range gives you options whether you want something handheld or something with a fork.
Fast-casual means you order at the counter and skip the long sit-down routine. It works well on a lunch break or before an evening plan.
Wings are great for sharing at a group table. Meanwhile, a wrap or sandwich makes sense if you are eating solo and want something simple.
Salads add a lighter choice to the counter. That helps if your group includes someone who wants chicken without the full comfort-food experience.
OX-B’s was named as a favorite in at least one recent review. Wings also got a shout-out from another visitor who stopped by with family.
Here is a helpful tip for groups. Let the chicken fans order here while others explore different counters, then regroup at the shared seating.
That flexibility is really the whole point of a food hall. Nobody is stuck eating chicken unless they actually want chicken, which seems fair.
Bowling Lanes And A Four-Season Room
Dinner and a game rarely share the same room this neatly. The hall features two lanes of duckpin bowling right inside the building.
Duckpin bowling uses smaller pins and smaller balls than regular bowling. The balls have no finger holes, so younger players can often handle them more easily.
That makes it a fun pick for families or friends who are not serious bowlers. Nobody needs special skills to enjoy knocking a few pins down.
There is also a four-season room with open-air seating. It gives you a different spot to eat when the main hall feels too busy.
A four-season room is designed for use throughout the year. So you can enjoy an airy setting without depending entirely on perfect Ohio weather.
The central Founders Bar offers soft drink products for anyone wanting a soda with their meal. It sits as a natural meeting point between the food counters.
Recent reviews mention plenty of tables and a lounge area. That gives groups a few ways to settle in after ordering.
Planning a casual birthday or catch-up? Food, games, and flexible seating in one stop can make the logistics much easier.
Offices, Classrooms, And Community Nights
Food is only one floor of the story in this building. The space also houses offices and education programs alongside the kitchens.
Sponsler Automotive’s accounting department and Otto Insurance Group have office space here. That mix keeps the building busy during regular workdays too.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University also uses the building. Its facilities here focus on engineering, cybersecurity, robotics, networking, and virtual reality programs.
It is a pretty fun contrast with the building’s past. A former newspaper office now supports students learning tech skills for the future.
Back on the dining side, the hall hosts community events. Family nights, game nights, and live music have all been part of the lineup.
One recent visitor mentioned a lively bingo night. If you prefer quiet meals, checking the event schedule ahead of time is a smart move.
More food is on the way as well. Sammy’s Sourdough is expected to open in early December, which would complete the full set of kitchens.
Following the hall’s official website or social pages is the best way to stay updated. That way you will know about new vendors and events before you head downtown.
Address: 18 East Vine Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
