Blackstone restaurant under new ownership in Iowa City

IOWA CITY — BlackStone in Iowa City is now under new ownership after a recent purchase from former staffers of the American eatery.

The restaurant at 503 Westbury Dr. came under new management Sept. 1, when couple Bobby Razavi and Alexis Puebla purchased the restaurant.

It’s the first venture in restaurant ownership for Razavi and Puebla, who met while working at the restaurant at an overlapping point between 2010 and 2016.

“It’s very special to us in that regard, being that we grew up there and have wonderful memories. It’s very much a familial feeling, a welcome home,” Puebla said.

After graduating from the University of Iowa, Puebla went on to work for startup delivery service Order Up, which later was acquired by GrubHub. She then worked in marketing for the Meredith Corporation and subsequently for Pancheros’ corporate team.

After leaving his last stint at BlackStone, Razavi worked in health technology.

After some time away, both have returned to their roots to pursue a project they’re passionate about.

“I always though the goal was to get a desk job and have weekends and a quote unquote normal life. Getting into corporate America, I realized that wasn’t where I found the most fulfillment,” Razavi said. “Thinking back on when I was having the most fun, when I was the happiest, a lot of those memories are tied to working in the restaurant industry and working at BlackStone.”

A new menu update, released on Oct. 23, brings back some of the old favorites that were popular during their previous tenure, like seared tuna, the Black & Bleu burger, spinach artichoke dip and Monterrey flatbread. The restaurant’s menu features elevated American classics, specialty cocktails and brunch specials.

The restaurant previously was owned by Craft Concepts stakeholders Brian Flynn, Erik Shewmaker and Matt Swift. BlackStone opened as Craft Concepts’ first restaurant in 2007. The group now has a hand in some heavy-hitting brands around Eastern Iowa, including Big Grove Brewery and 30Hop.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.