All about family: Couple shift career paths to open Urban Eats in Morrison

MORRISON — A Morrison couple have left their corporate careers to chase their dreams, all for the sake of heart and home.

Urban Eats opened Sept. 18 at 130 E. Main St. in Morrison. Owners Stephanie and Eric Neas are devoted parents whose former careers left them wanting more time with their children.

Stephanie is a registered nurse and a licensed nursing home administrator. She used to work as an executive director and administrator for Windsor Manor in Morrison. Eric was a player development manager at Rhythm City Casino for over a decade.

"We have five kids, and one day we were just tired of missing things," Stephanie said. "Eric worked every weekend. We were both on call, 24/7, and this is always something that we wanted to do. We finally got to a point where we'd saved up enough money, and we thought, 'Let's do it.'"

The couple bought the building in December 2023 but Stephanie said it needed a little TLC before opening.

"We had to do all new plumbing, all new electrical, new furnace, new air conditioner," Stephanie said. "It was one thing after another, and it just kept going. So, it took a lot longer than we expected it to but once we got over that big hump, we were like, 'All right, let's go.'"

Urban Eats serves light and healthy food options, such as salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts. It is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"Everything, all the dressings, all the soups, are all homemade from scratch," Stephanie said. "We make the sandwiches and the salads as people order them so they come out fresh and amazing. People can walk up and order in the line or sit down and the waitress will come take their order."

Stephanie said Urban Eats originated in DeWitt, Iowa, with Eric's mother, Jessica Jones, who opened the restaurant in 2017. The couple gained valuable practical experience from Jessica before opening their "son" location.

"Once we decided this is what we're going to do, we started going there a couple of days a week and learning things like how the line runs effectively, how the dishes get done in a clean and efficient manner, and just the overall flow of how things should go," Stephanie said. "Figuring out the timing of orders was the biggest challenge for me. The first couple of weeks was learning that, and now I think we're doing much better. The town has been very patient and supportive with us and we appreciate it."

Stephanie said that at the end of the day, it's all about family.

"What I love about this is that I'm here every day with my husband, and we get done at a decent time, so we don't miss anything," Stephanie said.