New men’s store to open in Iowa City

IOWA CITY - When Whitey's Ice Cream announced back in January that it would not be renewing its lease at 112 E. Washington St., property owner Mark Ginsberg said he wanted the downtown space's next long-term tenant to be something Iowa City hadn't seen before.

Ginsberg, owner of M.C. Ginsberg Jewelers, said he believes that tenant has been found - a new men's apparel store called Scout.

'I would say mission accomplished,” he said. 'I'm very excited about the concept.”

The idea for Scout, which will offer a selection of men's clothing including denim and button-down shirts as well as watches, cologne and other accessories - came from the minds of Catherine Champion, of Catherine's Boutique, Jamie Boling and Jil Dasher.

'It's going to be more than a clothing store,” Boling said. 'Scout will be a one-stop shop for the modern gentleman. It's a place where you'll find great looking clothes as well as unique items that simply haven't been available here.”

Scout's five-year lease begins in February, with the store hoping to open sometime in May, Champion said.

Champion added that, while downtown Iowa City's clothing market has been expanding in recent years, there still is a gap to fill for men's clothing, particularly the modern and clean styles that Scout aims to offer.

'We have a really successful and mature women's business downtown, all women's stores together, and we want to have that same synergy for men,” she said, adding that Scout's offerings will continue to expand and shift. 'Scout is an umbrella that we can push a lot of different ideas out of.”

Boling said the overall atmosphere and offerings at Scout are still coming together, but added that it will aim to provide a product more commonly found in major markets such as New York or San Francisco.

'We're going to offer men's clothing, it's going to be an offering that we hope will appeal to a demographic and market that just isn't served here in Iowa City,” he said. 'Our hope is to add a new layer to the vibrant landscape downtown. We want Iowa City to become a shopping destination for men just like it is now for women.”

Scout will take over the 112 E. Washington St. space after the temporary lease for not-for-profit Ten Thousand Villages of Iowa City Inc. ends early next year. The fair trade group will soon open at the space as it attempts to raise the $110,000 needed to find a permanent home in Iowa City.

In January, as Ginsberg began renovations and structural updates to the location, Whitey's Ice Cream officials announced that the ice cream shop would not be renewing its lease for the space it had been since 1994.