The Martini Lounge brings crafted cocktails, sweet options to New Bohemia space in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Variety is the spice of life — and the foundation of a new lounge’s martini menu.

After several months moonlighting its cocktails as Craft’d After Dark in the evenings at downtown coffee shop Craft’d, The Martini Lounge is building a new name for itself in a new, full-time location.

After nine months downtown from February to November, its grand reopening in New Bohemia on Jan. 8 under owners John and Candi Davidson solidifies its addition to Linn County’s blossoming martini bar scene.

“I think the martini is associated with the elevated experience,” said John. “We’re trying to mix that with the casual (atmosphere), come as you are.”

If you go:

Address: 1202 3rd St. SE #102, Cedar Rapids

Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Website: Find The Martini Lounge on Facebook

Phone: (319) 423-9458

Details: Enjoy a wide range of creative cocktails, sweet specialties, martinis and mocktails in a cozy lounge space. Most martinis average $12.

How it started

A trip to Savannah, Georgia, has inspired the couple for over 10 years.

Jen’s and Friends, a martini bar they encountered there, delighted them with over 300 different kinds of wild martinis. Candi remembers the Nerds martini with a box of candy and a Klondike Bar drink she ordered that was served with an actual ice cream bar.

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“When you think of a martini, a lot of people think of a classic martini with olives and gin,” she said. “That kind of opened my eyes — you don’t have to make a martini with just gin. It can be pretty much anything you want it to be.”

Previously, the business idea was a fantasy they squirreled away for John’s eventual retirement from engineering at Collins Aerospace — a coffee shop by day and a martini bar by night.

But in February 2025, that idea started coming to life early with their initial opening as Craft’d After Dark, where they took over the Craft’d cafe space downtown on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings — without a hand in coffee sales.

“It kind of happened a little bit quicker than we had anticipated,” Candi said. “We couldn’t pass up the opportunity because Craft’d is an established place already, so they were helping us out by allowing us to rent from them. It allowed us to build up a customer base.”

On the heels of other new competitors like BarTini's in Cedar Rapids and Marion, the incubator demonstrated the market for creative cocktails.

Candi is no stranger to sweets, though her background is in confections of a different form.

For the last 15 years, she has run Candi’s Cake Creations from her home while raising two daughters — the youngest of whom is now in college.

John, an engineer for nearly 25 years, has worked part-time as a bartender at Ashton Hill Farm wedding venue.

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As Craft’d’s coffee shop continued to grow, the Davidsons realized how many hours they spent flipping the cafe into a bar in the evenings — covering up coffee decor, swapping syrups for liquor, changing the ambiance, then reversing it all at the end of the night.

“I think that’s the one thing I will not miss, flipping the space,” Candi said. “It was simple, yet time consuming.”

Now, with a proven concept, they’re investing that time into serving customers from their own space.

They remain captivated by the customer base who brought their former part-time location to life at night, many of whom have helped them workshop their martini recipes.

“That probably stems from being a stay-at-home mom for so many years — I can (now) have that social aspect with other adults,” Candi said.

And, as with her cake orders, the “first taste” expressions fill their cups.

The menu

Sweet tooths can rejoice with confectionery creations on the expansive martini menu. About 38 recipes have been curated through years of online inspiration and modifications to perfect each recipe.

The Scotcharoo, a unique Midwestern flavor, combines smooth peanut butter whiskey and sauce with butterscotch schnapps and sauce, chocolate liqueur and chocolate milk with a crispy cereal rim.

There are seven types of cake drinks to choose from: birthday, black forest, chocolate cake, red velvet, tiramisu, tres leches and wedding. If you’re more of a pie person, choose from French silk or lemon meringue made with whipped cream vodka.

Or, have breakfast for dinner with odes to Cedar Rapids’ role in the cereal empire, like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fruit Loop martinis made with Rumchata and half and half for a milky finish.

The Raspberry Kamikaze, made with Chambord, triple sec and raspberry puree, was inspired by Candi’s aunt, who died after battling breast cancer 20 years ago.

Over the last year, Craft’d After Dark featured themed drinks like the Pride-tini in June, proceeds of which benefited Tanager Place’s programming for LGBTQ youth. They hope to continue similar fundraisers in their new space.

The menu is thoughtfully rounded out by a larger than average mocktail list, classic cocktails, wine and beer, and the Old Fashioned a la carte menu with your choice of bourbon, sugar type, bitters, smoke and toppings.

When you get the munchies, the small bites menu is worth a glance with sweets like mini cupcakes and apple pie egg rolls, or savory treats like bacon wrapped dates, grilled cheese with tomato soup and spinach artichoke dip.

The space

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Inside the location that was long home to upscale Mexican restaurant Caucho before a brief stint as Lacayo, an expansive seating area has been turned into several cozy spaces centering on the bar.

With earth tones, exposed red brick, dark furniture and black leather, the new space embodies the spirit of a “smart casual” kind of dress code.

“We want people to feel like it’s a casual environment but also a classy setting,” John said.

Like at their last location, they hope customers come to perhaps read a book, play a board game with friends — games now provided — and have a few chill drinks.

“It’s not going to be your typical super loud bar,” Candi said. “You can come chat with your friends … you don’t have to yell at them so they can hear you.”

Areas for lounging incorporate comfortable couches and chairs with coffee tables. The space’s dominant wall, previously covered in graffiti art, has been muted by a neutral curtain borrowed from The Martini Lounge’s days as Craft’d After Dark, when the bar had to cover up coffee decor for evening service.

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A new wallpaper of classic martini glasses with green olives fills out the opposite wall of the space, imbuing neutral earth tones that complement brick walls in the space’s new, more relaxed atmosphere.

The bar, with a backsplash of mosaic tiles, remains unchanged for now.

“That’s the one thing we haven’t changed yet,” said Candi. “That’s on our near-future to do list.”

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

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