New restaurants, stores coming to Cedar Rapids

Two major retail developments along Blairs Ferry Road in northeast Cedar Rapids are bringing new retailers and restaurants to the community.

Moe's Southwest Grill, a franchise restaurant owned and operated by Homewrecker Burrito Inc., has signed a lease for Northtowne Market, a 35-acre, $70 million mixed-use commercial project and developed by Hunter Companies across from SuperTarget.

Water Rock, an $11 million, 7.75-acre project developed by Todd and Tami Culver at the southeast corner of Blairs Ferry Road and Rockwell Drive NE, has signed leases with All Tune & Lube, Natural Grocers and Fuzzy's Taco Shop. Rock Top, an 11,741-square-foot, two-story restaurant and bar owned by Dave Carey, with 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, opened earlier this year.

Greg Swartzendruber, director of business development for Hunter Companies, said leases also have been signed with Domino's Pizza, Elevate Salon, Jimmy John's Sandwiches and Next Generation Wireless/U.S. Cellular.

'Domino's is doing a new concept,” Swartzendruber said. 'The company is closing its strictly carryout location on Center Point Road NE. Their restaurant in Northtowne Market will have more space, feature a new pizza theater store design, and have a sit-down feel to it while continuing to offer carryout.”

Moe's Southwest Grill will be a separate building with a drive-up window. The fast-casual restaurant franchise will serve made-to-order southwestern food with ingredients like all-natural chicken and guacamole.

Moe's Southwest Grill has more than 650 locations across 40 states.

Swartzendruber said Beaton Holding Co. has purchased a lot for a Burger King restaurant, which will open in 2017. Beaton Holding closed the Burger King at Lindale Mall in January 2016 when it was not able to buy the property from the mall.

Outdoor gear retailer Gander Mountain will be moving to Northtowne Market from a 31,080-square-foot store in Westwood Plaza in southwest Cedar Rapids in the spring of 2017. The St. Paul, Minn., company will operate a 52,000-square-foot anchor store in the new development.

Swartzendruber said Hunter Companies expects to announce additional tenants for Northtowne Market in the near future. The company recently purchased an adjacent triangle-shaped parcel on the northeast corner of the development that will provide space for additional tenants.

Todd Culver said Natural Grocers, a Denver, Colo., retailer that sells organic and natural foods, plans to open its 15,000-square-foot store in the next couple of months. He said All Tune & Lube, an automotive repair business on the southern edge of Water Rock, expects to open early next month.

'Fuzzy's Taco Shop, which is opening a location in Coralville, will be a tenant in our fourth building, a 10,000-square-foot strip center that is 50 percent leased,” Culver said. 'Fuzzy's Taco is taking 3,700 square feet and will probably open in March.

'We've also signed a lease with a women's nail care business for 1,300 square feet, which is hoping to open in February. I would expect that we will have the whole building leased by February.”