Several Quad Cities-based restaurants expand to Corridor

A trio of bars and restaurants new to the Corridor market are proven commodities as born-and-bred Quad Cities businesses. Both the Barrel House and Unimpaired Dry Bar have opened new locations in the last year in the Corridor as the first step in their separate plans to franchise nationally, while Foundry Food + Tap is […]

A trio of bars and restaurants new to the Corridor market are proven commodities as born-and-bred Quad Cities businesses. Both the Barrel House and Unimpaired Dry Bar have opened new locations in the last year in the Corridor as the first step in their separate plans to franchise nationally, while Foundry Food + Tap is considering even more regional growth after a successful six-month startup in Coralville. Barrel House celebrated a grand opening in Cedar Rapids on May 2, and ended the month by breaking ground on a 7,680-square-foot building with GLD Commercial Real Estate at 3230 Redhawk St. in Coralville.. Unimpaired’s official ribbon cutting in downtown Iowa City was May 5 – to demonstrate Cinco de Mayo can be celebrated without tequila in the margaritas.  The non-alcoholic alternative opened in October 2021, and the first school year proved so successful that the company has designs to open in other Big Ten Conference college party towns in the near future.

Quad Cities roots

Both Barrel House (2011) and Unimpaired (September 2020) began in downtown Davenport, while Foundry’s birth came in 2019 outside Bettendorf’s newly opened TBK Bank Sports Complex when owner Michael DeWitte broke from the Barrel House to start his latest business venture.  “There’s kind of a trend to do that now,” Unimpaired co-founder Amber Haines said about local businesses operating in both the Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids/Iowa City. “There are a lot of people that are back and forth between the two communities because they are so close,” said Bailey Thompson, brand and social media director for Foundry operator Platinum Management QCA. “So, it makes sense as a business knowing if people love your place, they can always go there no matter if they’re in the Quad Cities or Iowa City/Cedar Rapids.” With an hour to 90 minutes of drive time separating locations, Barrel House and Foundry also use that proximity to help combat the biggest issue facing restaurants right now – staffing shortages. By sharing staff as needed in their chain, both also build their teams and future leaders, which only helps with retention efforts for trained and competent employees. “We really try to make it a family effort to enjoy working with each other and being able to visit different locations to meet new people, take on new roles and learn new skills,” said Chris Posey, director of marketing and franchise sales for Barrel House.

Rolling like a barrel

Barrel House currently operates in five locations – two in Davenport and one each in Dubuque, Marion, which opened Dec. 6, 2021, and Cedar Rapids, which opened in early May. A sixth location in the East Village of Des Moines should be open by mid-to-late June, Mr. Posey said, while the first official franchise location in Bloomington, Illinois, is targeting a July opening. Jimmy Holt, Barrel House’s CEO and president, decided during the pandemic to buck the restaurant industry’s slowdown trend with a bold and aggressive vision for growth. The strategy targeted spots of revitalization where communities planned to reinvest money. So, while the emerging brand was getting approved and registered for franchises in 37 states, the Cedar Rapids and Des Moines locations were acquired as potential “turn-key” options for interested franchisee partners, Mr. Posey added. “That's why we have these new locations - we didn't want to lose out on them,” Mr. Posey said. “We didn’t want to get two years down the road and be like, ‘That spot would have been great for a Barrel House.'" The motivation was simple. “People had cabin fever for two years and we thought they would want to go out and have a good time when the pandemic ended,” Mr. Posey said. “So many people had to get out of the business because the pandemic crushed them, so we are now filling a big void. And even though there’s a cost of inflation now with the rising cost of food and labor, people are still itching to go back out and eat and have fun.”

Barrel House

Addresses: 102 Second St. SE, Cedar Rapids and 295 Tower Terrace Road, Marion Phone: (319) 364-0835 (Cedar Rapids) and (319) 377-5792 (Marion) Website: barrelhousepub.com

Future for the Foundry

Foundry is on a different growth path, with Mr. DeWitte recently opening a new venture in Bettendorf as well as another in the works. Mio Russo, an upscale Sicilian pizza and pasta restaurant, opened two months ago on 53rd Street in the building that formerly housed Crust. The new addition honors the family tradition and recipes passed down through the generations from the original Russo pizza restaurants located in Cedar Rapids in the 1950s and ’60s. “He's always thought this concept (for the Foundry) will work in multiple markets, so we will continue to expand on it eventually -- but we’re not even set on a location yet for Foundry 3,” Ms. Thompson said, noting Marion among the communities mentioned. “We want to get Coralville fully functioning and get the other babies up and running and then go from there. But regional expansion is definitely on the radar.” Foundry Coralville opened in November 2021, with Mr. DeWitte selecting the site near construction of a new hospital in a rapidly growing area.  So far, the reception has been positive, Ms. Thompson added, even though the new Foundry has yet to operate at full potential. “With the weather finally cooperating, we're just now getting into the patio being open,” she said. “We opened in the winter, so we haven't been able to utilize this space until now – and it’s going to be an animal -- even bigger and better than Bettendorf, with a full bar and some TVs outside.”   

Foundry Food + Tap

Address: 3266 Crosspark Road, Ste. 101, Coralville Phone: (319) 665-0001 Website: foundryfoodtap.com/coralville

Unimpaired’s path clear

“We get the question a lot,” admitted Angie Chaplin, who heads up Unimpaired Iowa City. “Why put an alcohol-free bar in the middle of one of the biggest college drinking towns in America? And the answer is because there needs to be options for students, as well as businesses, families and community members where they can enjoy an outing or night out without feeling the need to drink - or worry about the behaviors you think of when the night rolls in at a standard bar.” Ms. Haines had her sights set on Iowa City precisely to work with the 18-to-21-year-old crowd when she founded Unimpaired Davenport in September 2020 with her partner Jim Thomson, who liked the idea so much, he converted his existing bar at the time. Their success led to the addition of Iowa City only 13 months later on Oct. 22, 2021. “A lot of kids have said that they didn't even try alcohol until they went away to college with the peer pressures there,” said Ms. Haines, who is four years sober after losing her father to alcoholism when she was 22 and seeing her brother struggle with the disease. “So, we wanted to be there as a positive influence and just show them, ‘Hey, you can go out and socialize and gather with your peers and you can have fun without drinking.’” Ms. Chaplin, whose son Jeremy is an offensive lineman for the University of Iowa football team, has been sober for over two years after “nearly dying” several times, she said, because of alcohol addiction. Like Ms. Haines, Ms. Chaplin still enjoys social outings, though, and originally approached Unimpaired to sponsor a sober Hawkeyes tailgating club. Instead, that idea eventually led to Ms. Chaplin moving to a loft apartment above the downtown Iowa City location to serve as the events and engagement manager and oversee an expansion. In late April, she was appointed Vice President for Franchise & Organization Development to take the Iowa City blueprint nationally to other large college campuses. Included on the list of possible expansion markets are Big Ten cities such as Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin); Minneapolis (University of Minnesota); Chicago (Northwestern University neighborhood); Lincoln or Omaha, Nebraska (University of Nebraska); and Ann Arbor and East Lansing in Michigan (Michigan and Michigan State, respectively). 

Unimpaired Dry Bar

Address: 125 E. Burlington St., Iowa City Phone: (319) 313-3823 Website: unimpaireddrybar.com/iowa-city