Since late 1997, you can drive down 1st Ave and and pick out Cedar Rapids’ only gay bar with ease. Club Basix has been out and proud from the start. The first day it was open, original owner David Thompson mounted Pride flags around the entire roof. “I boarded up that middle window in the […]
Cedar Rapids businesses
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Czech Village’s new, women-owned bookstores bring two different vibes to the neighborhood
Most Iowans are lucky to have a single bookstore in their neighborhood. As of December, Cedar Rapids’ Czech Village has two. Sisters Books and Nooks debuted in September, founded by friends Jamie Sharar and Sarah Danielson, who call themselves “sisters by choice.” Three months later, sisters-by-birth Lindsay and Jaymie McGrath opened I’ll Meet You There […]
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Four places to pass the time near the Coe College campus
A born-and-raised Cedar Rapidan, I spent the majority of my childhood in the Wellington Heights Neighborhood on the southeast side of town. Wellington Heights sits on 1st Avenue, opposite from the historic Mound View neighborhood, where you’ll find Coe College. As a result, I’ve had a lifelong front-row seat to the dilemma faced by young folks […]
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Ken’s Magic Shop keeps an intergenerational art alive in Iowa
From the ancient oracles who conjured voices and visions in Greek temples to the latest illusionist on America’s Got Talent, the art of magic only endures if its secrets are shared with the next generation. That intergenerational legacy is on full display at Ken’s Magic Shop in Hiawatha, where the shop’s owner, 73-year-old Ken Marlin, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An historic Cedar Rapids theater is becoming its coolest new saloon and music venue
Once on the brink of demolition, a building constructed over 100 years ago is about to be reborn as Cedar Rapids’ newest bar and music venue. First opening as the Ideal Theatre over a century ago, the building at 213 16th Ave SE will start a new chapter of its story, written by its new […]
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HobbyTown in Cedar Rapids is closing
After six years selling everything from jigsaw puzzles to rockets and radio-controlled planes, HobbyTown in Cedar Rapids is going out of business. In a news release, owners Niels and Musette Christensen cited the increasing cost of rent and inflation as reasons why they were closing. The couple opened the store in December 2016, in the […]
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‘Basix is staying here’: Beloved Cedar Rapids LGBTQ bar gets a new owner
Two weeks ago, when Andy Harrison announced his plans to close the iconic Belle’s Basix on Feb. 1, he said there was still a chance to save Cedar Rapids’ only LGBTQ night spot. “If someone decides to buy the business then it will carry on as they [see] fit,” Harrison, who has owned the club […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Belle’s Basix, Cedar Rapids’ only LGBTQ bar, is closing — unless a new owner steps up
After a quarter century, Belle’s Basix, an iconic Cedar Rapids bar and one of only a handful of LGBTQ night spots in eastern Iowa, may soon close for good. “Unless someone buys the business, the bar will be permanently closed on Feb. 1st,” owner Andrew Harrison wrote in a late Sunday night Facebook post. “If […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Cedar Rapids looks to boost arts and entertainment industry this summer
A new initiative from the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance aims to rally support for arts, culture and entertainment venues in the city this summer. The CR Summer Rally program is the latest phase of the Economic Alliance’s Buy Local program, communications manager Jule Day told Little Village. The Economic Alliance announced the Rally C.A.P. […]
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Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: The Men’s Room Hair & Beard Parlor
Q&A with Chris Krause, founder of the Men’s Room Hair & Beard Parlor in Cedar Rapids, voted Best Barber in the 2020 Best of the CRANDIC awards. How long have you been in the hair-cutting industry and when did you open the Men’s Room? I started cutting hair in 2006, so I’ve been in the […]
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Earn prizes for shopping local through Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance’s new COVID-19 recovery initiative
The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance announced a new initiative Monday morning that focuses on supporting local businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rally C.A.P. — which stands for Rally Champion and Protect — is a “community-wide, team approach” designed to support restaurants, arts and cultural attractions, small shops and other Cedar […]
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As Linn County reopens, Cedar Rapids businesses decide how to move forward
As an owner of a small business, Ashleigh Derby has had to make decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic she couldn’t have imagined. “I would have never thought in a million years I’d have to make these decisions, ever. Let alone in the first year of being open,” said Derby, who owns Dot and Dash Boutique […]
