Sacred Cow Tavern bar and grill opening in Cedar Rapids’ Oakhill Jackson neighborhood

CEDAR RAPIDS — After several months of movement in the empty storefront at 1004 Seventh St. SE, a new restaurant has emerged: Sacred Cow Tavern.

The new restaurant, a collaboration between Cedar Rapids restaurant group Fun Not Fancy and restaurateur Kory Nanke, tentatively plans to open Nov. 1.

Nanke, owner of Epic Catering LLC, started the project for a new restaurant in the building several years ago, said Justin Zehr, Fun Not Fancy partner. With Nanke acting only as the building’s owner, Zehr will manage the new restaurant concept with partners Tim Kindl and Tim Oathout.

“It will be really good for the neighborhood since it has nothing going on — it’s a few blocks away from NewBo and a few blocks away from the (MedQuarter),” Zehr said. “We formed the concept around the neighborhood.”

With a focused but robust menu, Sacred Cow will offer a variety of burgers, rib-eye steak, chicken gyros, shrimp boil and more, alongside canned beer.

“We had to get creative with this space. It hasn’t been a restaurant before,” Zehr said.

Vacant for years, one of the space’s last tenants was a small grocery store. Zehr said longtime neighborhood residents recalled conflicting accounts of whether a church previously occupied the space.

Renovation movement in the space became more visible over the past several months as the interior was renovated and an outside walk-in cooler was installed off the back patio.

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