116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Two NewBo theaters team up to collaborate on bookings
Owners of Ideal, Olympic theaters aim to create ‘movement and energy between the two venues’ to enhance ‘alive-ness,’ cohesion of the district
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Two landmark theaters in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia neighborhood are teaming up.
“The opportunity to oversee two such complementary — and historic — venues right around the corner from one another is something I could only have dreamt of,” Kenyon Thorp wrote in an email.
Thorp, owner of the Ideal Theater & Bar, will manage bookings there and at the Olympic South Side Theater, where a new cocktail lounge will open in December.
“We really found great value in what the vision is,” said Olympic owner Steve Shriver. “A major collaboration between the two venues, support for events in the neighborhood.”
Shriver, who listed the Olympic for sale in July, is pulling it off the market. The building also houses Shriver’s Brewhemia coffee shop and the offices of developer and property manager Watts Group.
“We had the venue for sale at one point and that didn’t raise any interest,” Shriver said.
Candi and John Davidson tentatively plan to open The Martini Lounge in the building’s 12th Avenue frontage on Dec 19. The space was last occupied Lacayo Mexican restaurant, which closed earlier this year.
“That just depends on how quickly the inspections get done,” Candi Davidson said.
Since February, the Davidsons have operated Craft'd After Dark three nights a week at 333 First St. SE, the space that is Craft'd coffee shop during daytime hours. The coffee shop, owned by Amanda Zhorne, will remain open.
Open Wednesday through Saturday nights, The Martini Lounge will specialize in craft martinis and cocktails and non-alcoholic mocktails, supplemented by appetizers and “small bites.” Davidson plans to schedule trivia nights and other events.
“We looked at probably a dozen different places to move,” Davidson said. “Location is always key. Another part of it was just the space itself.”
Thorp’s joint management will allow the two venues to share staff to work events. With 12,000 square feet, the Olympic, 1202 Third St. SE, is more than three times the size of the Ideal, 213 16th Ave. SE.
“The Olympic has lost a lot of bookings because we’re too big, and she’s lost some because (the Ideal) is too small,” Shriver said. “Now, people can take a tour of both places the same day and figure out what works for them. It’s really synergistic.”
“The two venues can also be packaged together — a rehearsal dinner at The Ideal on Friday, for example, and a wedding ceremony at The Olympic on Saturday — and played off of one another for our public events,” Thorp wrote. “A feature show at The Olympic, and the after-party at The Ideal. Our efforts to create this movement and energy between the two venues will, we hope, enhance the activity, ‘alive-ness,’ and cohesion of the district as a whole.”
This summer Thorp shifted the Ideal, which she opened in 2022, from regular bar hours to a space for music and private events.
“It remains a small, quaint venue, perfect for corporate cocktail hours, bridal showers and rehearsal dinners, milestone birthdays, and live shows with local musicians and comedians,” Thorp wrote in an email.
Meanwhile, Thorp sees the Olympic as “the perfect venue for wedding ceremonies, corporate banquets, large receptions, and live shows with regional, national and even international musicians and comedians. It has a more modern, streamlined aesthetic, perfect for customizing.”
“We’re hoping to have a nice collaboration,” Davidson said. “They have so many events going on, but if someone wants to stop by our place and have a cocktail before, they’re more than welcome to.”
Shriver, Eric Engelmann and Ben Dillon renovated and opened the Olympic in early 2020. Shriver owns the venue, while he, Engelmann, and Dillon co-own the building itself. Engelmann is a founder and board chairman and Dillon is the CEO of Geonetric, the digital marketing firm headquartered at 415 12th Ave. SE.
“It’s been a pretty wild ride since we opened during COVID,” Shriver said. “We have tried a lot of different concepts and have struggled to find one that works. Kenyon is really one of the only people on the city that knows how to run an event venue and book live music. We’re looking at it being a great year.”
“It has been a big week so far, preparing for six events between the venues, two of which are sold out at capacity,” Thorp wrote.
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