Downtown Cedar Rapids restaurant Zins closing after 10 years

Downtown restaurant Zins is closing after a decade in business.

The restaurant opened in 2007 at 227 Second Ave. SE. It temporarily closed after being flooded in 2008 and reopened a year later.

Originally known for 'small plate” items, the eatery has struggled in recent years - in January of 2015, staff put out a plea on social media for more customers.

'We have come to a critical point in our operations. It is of the utmost importance that we improve business this month, and in the future going forward, to avoid closing our doors,” a Facebook post at the time said. They also added bigger entrees to the menu to try to attract more customers.

Those strategies helped get them through another year, but ultimately there hasn't been enough sustained business to keep going - this summer has seen the lowest revenue in the restaurant's history, principal owner Lee Belfield said.

He attributes part of that to increased competition from a growing number of upticket restaurants in and near downtown, such as Black Sheep Social Club, which opened in April, and The Pig & Porter, which opened this month.

'My goodness, the public did a great job of supporting us,” he said. 'There's just more competition. I hope that whatever customers are coming downtown to support us keep going to those other places.”

Two Zins supporters, Bob Rush, 70, and Bill Nicholson, 63, both of Cedar Rapids, enjoyed a drink at the restaurant's bar Friday shortly after the announcement. Both said they have been regular diners over the years and will miss the restaurant.

'It's sad to lose an iconic restaurant like this that survived the flood and led the effort to rebuild and put money into downtown,” Nicholson said.

A closing date has not been set yet, but Belfield said he plans to remain open through the end of July. The restaurant has about 20 employees.

'My future is consumed at the moment by making sure we take care of our staff and making sure we take care of our guests,” he said.

Belfield, 67, is also the general manager of The Hotel at Kirkwood Center.

He is also still involved with plans to open a restaurant at 1204 Seventh Ave. in Marion, but said he is not sure what the timeline for that project may be - construction on a new mixed-use building at the location, which used to be a Jiffy Lube, has faced major setbacks, including when the roof collapsed in September.