The UnImpaired Dry Bar looks to create an alcohol-free party for college students in Iowa City
Paris BarrazaThe newest bar in Iowa City has everything you need for a Saturday night out: pizza, a pool table, TV screens showing the big game and an extensive drink menu.
The only thing it doesn't have is alcohol.
The UnImpaired Dry Bar is hoping to show a clientele likely to be made up of college students that it can meet all their needs sans the buzz.
The UnImpaired, the Quad Cities first dry bar, is opening its Iowa City location to the public Friday. It’s at 125 E. Burlington St. across from what was formerly the Mill.
Amber Haines, operation co-founder, said in an interview with the Press-Citizen that the dry bar isn’t opposed to alcohol. It just wants to provide an alternative space for people looking for a night on the town.
“We're more set out to prove that a bar could be more of a social atmosphere,” Haines said. “We're hoping that we can really be that place for the college students.”
The offerings at the UnImpaired Dry Bar are intended to encourage building a social atmosphere, from a pool table and dartboard to a lounge corner with comfortable, more intimate seating.
The UnImpaired Dry Bar is hoping to eventually add live entertainment. It already has planned open mic nights, karaoke and trivia every Thursday.
Working with the community, offering an alternative scene
In a city home to the University of Iowa, which made the list of the Princeton Review’s top party schools for a decade until 2018, the UnImpaired Dry Bar’s presence may seem contradictory.
Haines insists it’s not.
Haines said that the dry bar has always had its eyes set on Iowa City, but now better understands that the UnImpaired should be near colleges, where it can be an option for the 18- to 21-year-old crowd.
The dry bar has reached out to UI groups including Fraternity and Sorority Life and the Alcohol Harm Reduction Advisory Committee, a group of faculty, staff and students that researches how to reduce high-risk drinking among students, general manager Amanda O’Donnell said.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a 2019 national survey on drug use and health found that about 52% of full-time college students reported consuming alcohol in the past month, and 33% engaged in binge drinking.
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Haines said there has been outreach from UI regarding a “sober tailgate,” with the UnImpaired, and the dry bar will also look to the students on its staff for further suggestions.
The dry bar will also be donating 2% of all pizza sales to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, according to O'Donnell.
Haines, who is four years sober, explained that she doesn’t struggle with alcoholism. She simply doesn’t like alcohol.
She used to own a bar in Blue Grass and would often watch as regulars who didn’t intend on having a drink would end up getting drunk due to peer pressure.
Haines wondered why having fun while enjoying a non-alcoholic drink wasn’t enough for some people.
As for Haines, she still wanted a place to go out and dance or sing karaoke.
“I thought, why can't there just be a place like that, that people can go to?” she said. “They can still dance, sing and not worry about the peer pressure of it and just have a good time.”
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What’s next for the UnImpaired
This is the second location of the UnImpaired Dry Bar, which first opened in Davenport in 2020.
Haines said the Davenport location has become more of a destination for customers, with patrons from Wisconsin, Chicago and even a couple from St. Louis stopping in.
More expansion is planned for the UnImpaired Dry Bar, with Des Moines next on the their radar, according to Haines — though the business is first looking at franchising.
While the Davenport location tends to have an older crowd, Haines said, the UnImpaired in Iowa City has set its sights on the college student population.
According to O’Donnell, the dry bar is looking to incorporate more coffee-infused items on the menu. Haines said that the dry bar will also have kombucha on draft.
The dry bar serves energy drinks, something that students can stop in and buy as they head to class, O’Donnell said. It will also serve pizza by the slice, aimed at college students looking for something on the go.
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The UnImpaired Dry Bar is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or (319) 519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.