116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Oak Hill Tavern opens in former Bostons space in Cedar Rapids’ Oak Hill Jackson neighborhood
Up-and-coming staffer tries her hand at managing her first restaurant
Jan. 25, 2024 6:15 am, Updated: Jan. 25, 2024 8:05 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — A new tavern has taken over the cozy space formerly home to Boston Fish Seafood Market and Bostons Restaurants.
Oak Hill Tavern, opened in October at the corner of Eighth Avenue SE and Fifth Street SE, brings a varied menu and a few novel plates to the Oak Hill Jackson neighborhood.
Managing partner Brie McLaughlin, 22, is trying her hand at ownership as she works to own her first restaurant in partnership with restaurant group Epic Catering LLC. But she wants her first attempt to exude “a more mature vibe,” with an emphasis on craft cocktails, a wide variety and quick service.
“I wanted it to be not like a dive bar, but I don’t want to call it an upscale bar,” said McLaughlin. “I don’t want this to be Hazard’s, I don’t want this to be Cliff’s.”
If you go
What: Oak Hill Tavern
Where: 804 Fifth St. SE, Cedar Rapids
When: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Phone: (319) 200-4476
Website: oakhilltavern.godaddysites.com
Details: Soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers and pastas range from $13 to $18. A full bar of drink options averages around $10 for most cocktails.
The food
With three pages of food, Oak Hill Tavern manages to pack a punch in variety, quality, novelty and types of food. With cafe-esque sections of soups, salads, wraps, sandwiches and burgers, a broad appeal was the aim for McLaughlin’s concept.
That extends even to vegans and vegetarians, who can find something more than a salad on this menu.
“I wanted to make sure there was something for everybody,” said McLaughlin. “I have a lot of friends who are vegan and vegetarian, so they have to research if we’re going to go anywhere first.”
Formulated by fiancee Sebastian Simmons, the menu is filled with zero-entry descriptions that ramp up with subtle creativity for everyday items as simple as burgers and pasta.
The Blueberbrie Grilled Cheese, for example, could easily pass for the name of a phonetically similar London fashion house, and seems to have the goods to put its money where its mouth is. Brie and white cheddar cheese finds itself bound to blueberry jam and blueberries on toasted sourdough bread — a novelty diners won’t find anywhere else in Cedar Rapids.
A few lines down, a fried chicken sandwich appears on plates as golden as it is juicy, saturated by a spicy, housemade sauce under a brioche bun.
The Midwest burger puts both macaroni and cheese and sweet corn into the same bite — a childhood aspiration of McLaughlin’s that has made residence in the adult world — and the cheese wontons are reported to give Irish Democrat a run for their money.
Diners also will notice a robust list of soups — a passion of McLaughlins — which will remain year-round.
A small nod to Bostons remains dispersed throughout the menu, including its cod sandwich and Po Boy. The space, which had a previous life as Bostons Fish Seafood Market and Restaurant, was purchased by Epic Catering LLC owner Kory Nanke in 2018 before it was rebranded as Bostons. The latter closed in May 2022.
The food aims to be “quality but quick,” for those with 30-minute lunch breaks in the nearby downtown and Med Quarter districts.
Drinks
With 10 taps, the new restaurant has a strong preference for local craft beers — on trend with many other restaurants in the area. But the managing partner takes local to a personal level, thanks to her background.
A self-described Navy brat, McLaughlin got tired of moving after her family landed in Robins eight years ago. Now, whenever possible, she tries to find local options for her beer and liquor needs — like spirits from Blue Ox.
Alongside a mule menu, drinkers with a sweet tooth can revel in a martini list that specializes in dessert-themed cocktails that take the bite out of drinking, from raspberry cheesecake and strawberry shortcake to blueberry or Key lime pie.
Those who abstain also will notice a large mocktail list that’s much more than the afterthought such sections are given in some bars.
The manager’s background
As a restaurant staffer around the Corridor for the last eight years, McLaughlin might be a familiar face.
Since age 14, she has worked her way up through Casa Las Glorias on Blairs Ferry Road NE, Bari Italian, and most recently Raging Ryno’s and Tipsy Tomato as Oak Hill Tavern came online.
The former nursing student at Kirkwood Community College got a rough start to the first career she envisioned, realizing it was not the right path for her after working as a certified nursing assistant at the beginning of the pandemic.
She toured the former Bostons space last April, only hoping to get a glimpse of a future vision she thought was at least 10 years away. But after her pitch to Epic Catering LLC owner Kory Nanke, she’s found herself on track to owning her first restaurant.
“This is all I’ve known and been good at,” said McLaughlin. “I love bartending.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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