4th coffee shop opens downtown, and some say there’s room for more

CEDAR RAPIDS - In a building badly damaged by the 2008 flood, Brooke Fitzgerald hopes to realize her entrepreneurial dreams through downtown's newest coffee shop, the Early Bird. Does downtown already boast enough coffee shops, though?

Set to open in early October, the new cafe at 221 Third Ave. SE will join the Coffee Emporium, 220 Third Ave. SE; Blue Strawberry Coffee Co., 118 Second St. SE; and Mr. Beans, 200 First St. SE.

Before the 2008 flood, 51 bars, restaurants and coffee shops filled downtown storefronts, said Doug Neumann, president for the Cedar Rapids Downtown District. Today, there are 39, he said.

“The number of people working downtown is greater than 90 percent of where we were in 2008,” he said. “So we do think there is the ability for some additional restaurants.”

Before the flood, four coffee shops served the downtown hub. Coffee Emporium, Blue Strawberry and Mr. Beans returned. Cedar Rapids Coffee on First Avenue SE didn't.

Real estate agent Tiffany Earl of Skogman Realty handled the deal that placed the Early Bird in the Town Centre building and said there are more deals coming.

“We actually have a letter of intent from a wine bar for the space next door to the coffee shop,” Earl said.

The building at 227 Second Ave. SE, which previously housed Blend restaurant, also has attracted prospective business owners, she said. Her office has received two letters of intent from restaurateurs interested in vacant space in that building - one to feature new American cuisine and the other billed as a steakhouse.

Earl agrees that downtown hasn't yet reached dining and coffee shop saturation. She said the Early Bird will have a natural customer base when the Paramount Theatre renovation is complete, the new federal courthouse opens and TrueNorth Cos. relocates to the former library site.

“There is a new market of employees out in that area, and this will probably be their coffee shop and sandwich place,” Earl said.

Fitzgerald, co-owner of the Early Bird with her brother, Aaron Murphy, believes there's room for more coffee, breakfast and lunch options because downtown workers don't want to dine at the same place “over and over again.”

“At least, when I worked downtown, that was my feeling,” Fitzgerald said.

The Early Bird will serve fresh-brewed coffee, locally made baked goods and lunch fare.

Fitzgerald, who has been in Cedar Rapids since 1999, left her corporate job at Wells Fargo last year to follow her dream of becoming a business owner. She views the Early Bird, which will seat up to 38 people in its 1,430-square-foot space, as part of a years-long effort to revitalize downtown Cedar Rapids.

“And to be a part of that is really fun,” she said.

Related article: Cedar Rapids Chamber, Priority One, Downtown District merging (thegazette.com)