Restaurateur plans three new restaurants, one relocation in Cedar Rapids, Marion

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids and Marion restaurateur is shaking things up with three new restaurants, one relocation and one closure in her current portfolio.

Jade Luter, owner of several area restaurants, will move one current sport’s bar concept, create a sequel to one cafe and create a new Mexican restaurant concept with two locations.

Pregame Brew and Chew, opened at 3025 Mount Vernon Rd. SE in August 2024 with a sports bar theme and old favorites from the legendary Cork ‘n Fork, will reopen at 588 Boyson Rd. NE on Oct. 8.

Pregame’s new home will take the place of Mas Margaritas, the now-closed Mexican restaurant Luter purchased in January from Haile Duncan and Ozzie Aguirre.

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“We’re switching some things around because it’s been a little bit of a battle with Mas Margaritas,” Luter said. “At the Pregame location, people were really missing tacos.”

Simultaneously, Pregame’s former space on Mount Vernon Road SE will be transformed into Casa de Ojos Locos, a new Mexican concept by Luter. The new restaurant will feature top sellers from the defunct Mamacita’s Taco Bar, a short-lived concept by Duncan that first opened in March 2022.

Luter said Casa de Ojos Locos’ first planned location will retain some of the sporty atmosphere left behind by Pregame’s move.

Meanwhile, the entrepreneur still has plenty of plans in store with two new restaurants being built in Marion at 6155 Carlson Way, adjacent to Daisy’s Garage.

The two new restaurants, Cruz’s Cafe Encore and a second Casa de Ojos Locos, will share a kitchen in a building with a combined 3,300 square feet for dining rooms. Luter hopes to start building out the two restaurants next year.

Cruz’s Cafe Encore will be a new concept related to sister restaurant Cruz's’s Cafe at 568 Boyson Rd. NE, Suite 190, in Cedar Rapids. Luter opened that as her third in August 2021.

Luter said her portfolio’s growth in Marion mirrors the city’s overall growth and demand for restaurants.

“Marion is my top producer,” she said. “It’s growing like crazy, and it’s only going to continue to grow.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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