Chrome Horse announces NewBo closure

CEDAR RAPIDS — A long standing Cedar Rapids bar and grill has announced plans to close this month.

The Chrome Horse Saloon, a mainstay in Cedar Rapids for 21 years, will close on Sept. 28, according to a social media post.

On Monday, the restaurant thanked the customers and staff who helped it overcome flood, fire and the pandemic. Patrons are invited to celebrate decades of memories made by visiting before its closure.

The post did not detail reasons for the closure.

The fixture in the New Bohemia district, started in 2003 at 307 12th Ave. SE, left the NewBo neighborhood for three years after a fire caused significant damage to its building.

After establishing a location at 1140 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, owner Derek Collins opened a second location at its current site, 1201 Third St. SE. The Third Street spot was home to Newbo Alehouse and Newbo Sushi until the 2016 flood.

The Blairs Ferry Road location closed in June 2018, just a few months after Chrome Horse returned to NewBo.

“We were NewBo before NewBo was here,” Collins said in a 2017 Gazette interview.

The owners planned the restaurant’s atmosphere, with live music and motorcycles, to fit the emerging aesthetic in NewBo by appealing to both bikers and cyclists.

“We'll take the spandex and the leather,” he said.

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