Blink Vision, Blue Bird Cafe to anchor new North Liberty Center

Blink Eye Center and the Blue Bird Cafe will soon be coming to Stonebridge Promenade, a new retail center filling up rapidly in North Liberty.

The center at 650 W. Cherry was developed by optometrist Ryan Veatch as a location to house his Blink Vision Center. The optometric practice isn't scheduled to open until April 2012, but six of nine spaces in the center's other building have already been leased, with most already open.

Veatch had never developed a real estate project before, but the project's fast progress appears to be more than beginner's luck.

Veatch said the mid-Corridor location, along with the appearance of the building, layout, and landscaping, made it a good location for small businesses. Todd Dodd of Aspect Inc. in Cedar Rapids, designed the project, and Peggy Slaughter of Mid-West America Realty handled leasing.

Dodd said the project uses a mixture of styles, but the buildings' exterior materials - largely full-depth and thin-set stone - were more interesting and costly than are usually seen in retail projects of that nature.

"He didn't want it to look like a strip mall," Dodd said. He wanted it to be a higher level of finish that would attract clients such as small legal offices."

The elegant stonework design caught the eye of Lacie Willis, the front-of-house manager at the Blue Bird Diner in Iowa City, as she passed it on her way to work every day.

"I called up Peggy (leasing Realtor Peggy Slaughter) and said, "I want that end cap," Willis said.

Willis joined with Jon Wilson and Thomas Connolly, the owners of the Blue Bird Diner in Iowa City, in a venture to open the North Liberty Blue Bird Cafe.

Blue Bird Diner on Gilbert Street in Iowa City is thriving in its third year of operation.

The cafe, slated to open in March, has leased two retail units in the center. It will be "less diner-esque," than the Blue Bird Diner in Iowa City, Willis said. It will, however, feature a similar menu of foods made fresh daily, using locally grown and produced ingredients when available.

Veatch said Blink Eye Center will open in April, initially housing the optometric practices of himself and his father, Dr. Marlin Veatch. The 8,500-square-foot space will eventually house one or two more optometrists.

Nutrishop, a specialty retailer of sports nutrition and weight loss products, was opened last week by franchisees Kevin Boyer and Brian Schafer in Stonebridge Promenade.

The first tenants to open were Great Clips, owned by franchisee Jerry Akers, and Mail Pack & More, owned by franchisee Marissa Reid.

Clark Orthodontics, owned by Tanner and Sarah Clark, is expected to open in mid-February.

Only 4,500 square feet of the 14,000-square-foot center remains to be leased.