Celina’s Nowhere Bar is marking its first year in business with a menu of burgers and wings, cold drinks, sports on the TVs and a growing collection of memories from its regulars.
Opened in July 2025 by husband-and-wife duo Katie Dunn and Taylor Witt, who also own the Little Wooden Penguin near downtown Celina, Nowhere Bar blends the feel of a favorite college bar with the warmth and personality of a local dive bar.
The beginning
Before Nowhere Bar opened in July 2025, Dunn and Witt wanted to create a space where customers could come every day for good food, cold drinks and a taste of Celina's small-town spirit.
Dunn said seasonal trends like the NFL, college football and the 2026 FIFA World Cup have turned new faces into regular customers. She said the addition of multiple TVs and a patio helps create a space “that’s designed for the daily user.”
“When you look back, it’s amazing the impact business can have in just one year,” Dunn said. “In that time, we feel like we’ve really found our identity.”
Witt said Nowhere Bar’s vision of combining the warm atmosphere of a college bar and a dive-style bar in one location has turned out “pretty close to what we expected.”
“We expected the regular crews coming in, people here for games, playing darts and watching every sporting event under the sun,” Witt said. “We wanted a local place where everyone could afford to come to. Nothing over the top, just simple, easy and repeatable.”
On the menu
Nowhere Bar features a mix of smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, chicken wings and Philly cheesesteaks, along with boozy milkshakes and unique desserts such as funnel cake fries, churro fries and floats.
Both Dunn and Witt said the boneless and bone-in wings have become a popular item, along with Philly cheesesteaks. Dunn said their margaritas remain a top alcoholic beverage, with a seasonally rotating drinks and mocktails menu designed to keep things fresh.
Though a menu with more than just burgers and beers was always part of Dunn and Witt’s vision, they recognized that keeping the menu simple and approachable could help the bar appeal to local customers and broader dining trends.
“The margarita, people know that they’re coming here to get that,” Dunn said. “When we add something to the menu, we’ve probably tried it for a while. The wings have been really taking off, especially going into football season.”
Community values
In the heart of a fast-growing city, Dunn said cultivating a sense of community remains a key priority in creating a space customers can come back to every day. The bar's walls, chairs and bar top are covered in stickers and flags from customers and employees, showcasing the team pride and personality of its regulars.
“People have made this bar their own,” Dunn said. “We love bars where you feel like you can just be. Somewhere you can sit and hang out with your people, no expectations.”
Quarterly, a Nowhere Bar themed mural is reworked inside Nowhere Bar by local artist Bristen Phillips, who has painted multiple Celina murals including the Grace Bridge Resale mural and the mural behind The Toasted Walnut.
Dunn said bringing locally-sourced artwork, local bartenders and working with nearby businesses “is paramount to who we are at our core.”
“Celina is built on relationships. If we’re going to pick somebody for a service, we want to know they’re just down the street,” Dunn said. “80% of everything we did stayed local, if not more than that. Anything we could do here, we did here.”
What’s next?
Witt said Nowhere Bar has already started to envision what the next generation of diners in a fast-growing town might look like, drawing inspiration and ideas from friends, family, coworkers and customers to keep the experience fresh.
Though Celina and Collin County continue to evolve and grow, Witt said Nowhere Bar’s personality remains simple: “somewhere people can go out, eat and experience what downtown has to offer.”
“If you’re not focusing on what’s coming, then you’re going to miss out,” Witt said. “From the first month of being open, we knew this was what Celina needed.”
