New supper club brings bright spot to dark winter days through Cedar Rapids restaurants

CEDAR RAPIDS — The winter months of each year — especially January and February — are known as the most challenging for locally-owned restaurants.

And after flashy places like Big Grove and Pickle Palace opened in Cedar Rapids’ new Kingston Yard development, recently elected at-large City Council member David Maier was concerned about the bevy of other small restaurants under that new shadow.

“It’s a fantastic addition to the city, but I have a feeling that if people are going to go out in this weather, they’re going to try the new place,” he explained. “There are so many great places here. It was one of my motivations to start this group.”

But even with an appreciation for fine dining instilled in the Chicago native, the weekly Winter Supper Club he started in January wasn’t just to feed the stomach — it was to nourish the mind and soul often neglected as holiday events subside.

  Buy Photo

After the effects of the pandemic, he realized how social skills atrophy when unused, especially in the winter. The format of a low-risk, high-reward dinner every Wednesday seemed like a win-win for business owners, foodies and those just looking for something to do with others — whether it’s finding new friends or cultivating time with old acquaintances.

“When I started to get back out and socialize, I wasn’t sure how much to say or what to say. It became very awkward and uncomfortable,” said Maier, whose background is in accounting and finance. “What I don’t want people to do is relapse and miss out on what our city has to offer, and the amazing people who are in it.”

Starting with a simple Facebook post, the response has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, producing dozens in attendance each week and countless more conversations.

How it works

With a simple RSVP system through Facebook events every week, participants can let the group know whether they’ll be in attendance at the chosen restaurant.

They can come by themselves, as a couple or with friends. Seating is unassigned, so diners can sit wherever they like and start chatting before the meal starts.

All participants have at least one thing in common — wanting to support local businesses or engaging with others — to break the ice. Backgrounds, age and interests of diners vary, creating opportunities for a variety of conversations.

Part of the group’s appeal to some is a neutral ground for connecting with others in a casual, unintimidating setting.

“As we get older, friendships are (often) solidified,” Maier said. “It’s easy to have acquaintances, but it’s difficult to get to know people.”

  Buy Photo

But in this group, he noted most participants go out of their way to engage others and avoid monopolizing conversations or centering them around any particular person. Already, members are considering how to continue the group after winter, and what other activities they might like to schedule.

At the end of January, the group met at LP Street Food. Later in February, the group plans to have a dinner benefiting the Junior League of Cedar Rapids.

“It’s already starting to grow and benefit the community in a number of ways I hadn’t initially envisioned,” Maier said.

Why people are going

For attendee Debs Roberts, 73, meeting new people has become an intentional effort.

After moving to Cedar Rapids from Fairfield a few years ago, the friends she’d known most of her life were out of reach. Between caring for her grandchildren, maintaining a home and volunteering for nonprofit arts organization CSPS, she has managed to put herself out there, but has found it difficult to make lasting friendships.

But after a few meets with the Supper Club, she found the format to be different. At one of the group’s first meetings in Phong Lan, she brought champagne to celebrate her birthday with mostly strangers.

  Buy Photo

“Every year since I was 68, there’s been either COVID or terrible weather. I said this year, I’m going to celebrate,” she said. “Everybody sang happy birthday and made a fuss, and I thought ‘Whoa, this is fun.’ ”

She’s enjoyed lively conversations between both singles and couples — something she finds unique about the group — and getting to learn new things about her community through other people’s work.

“I realized you can’t make friends overnight. You have to change tables and find out who else is there,” she said after a few dinners.

For Shellrock native Chris Taylor, who moved back to Cedar Rapids last year, it’s been an opportunity to find common ground with others different from him.

After living in Washington, D.C., for 17 years, he hasn’t had trouble establishing his social network in his home area again. But the supper club has provided a new ground to take him out of a silo. At dinners, he’s able to connect in new ways with people he has known for years, while kindling new connections, too.

  Buy Photo

“It’s an opportunity to meet some of my neighbors that might be like-minded because we have some common connections, but might not meet in other places,” he said. “That has been really cool.”

But even around contentious topics like politics, group conversations manage to stay positive without derailing dinner, he said — contrary to conventional wisdom many follow in avoiding political discussion with friends.

“In this environment where it’s so polarized politically to the point where we don’t have the chance to get to know people with different opinions, it was nice to not have it go south,” he said. “We were able to communicate, be thoughtful and kind. That’s something we need more of.”

For Cedar Rapids residents Anne and Scott Johnson, supporting restaurants was reason enough to attend. Meeting new people is icing on the cake.

  Buy Photo

With four grown children and two grandchildren, they’re building a wider network in retirement. After attending other community dinners and food-oriented events, they’ve found energy in the intentional effort to build community and learn more about their city.

“You have time to have simple, easygoing conversations. It gets a little bit more personal and interesting,” Anne said. “It’s a very rich experience.”

At each dinner, they make a point to invite newcomers to the seats next to them.

“Building community is important, and it is hard to truly meet people and get to know people unless you have an event,” she said. “This feels different — more genuine, personal and relational.”

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