B.A. Morelli The Gazette
Jun 6, 2017 at 11:45 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — Quinton’s Bar and Deli is coming to the Kingston Village district in Cedar Rapids.
The establishment will be located on the first floor of the new Metropolitan, 450 First St. SW, a six-story, high-end housing complex with retail and office space on the first level.
“I think our price point will work well here and I think that area is coming up,” said Brian Rorris, managing partner of Quinton’s Iowa locations. “It’s like our location in the East Village in Des Moines, which became an up-and-coming area. I think we are going to be on the forefront here and will be here for a while.”
Quinton’s will feature a range of craft and domestic beers, Moscow mule’s featuring homemade ginger beer, and “Big Girls,” the name for 23-ounce beer pours often on special during happy hour. The menu covers sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups and loaded potatoes appetizers, and items mainly range from $9 to $11, Rorris said.
Quinton’s originated in Lawrence, Kan., and now has seven locations in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Quinton’s came to Iowa City in 1999. Rorris’ partner bought it out in 2006, and they proceeded to open a location in Coralville in 2010 and Des Moines in 2011.
Rorris said he envisions two or three locations in Cedar Rapids, and noted his group plans to immediately begin identifying a fifth Iowa location as soon as they open in Kingston Village.
Crews will be working on building out the Kingston Village space over the next several weeks, and expect to open no later than Aug. 1, but possibly sooner. Kingston Village has a mix of residential, industry and small retail on the west bank of the Cedar River directly across from the downtown business district.
“We are popular with the happy hour crowd, as well as late night crowd and lunch,” he said. “And, we should see business from the (McGrath) Amphitheater across the street.”
The 3,200-square-foot space will include inside seating for 125 people and 75 on a large patio. Rorris said he expects to have 40 employees at this location.