Unimpaired opens its first dry bar in Iowa City

Unimpaired co-owner Amber Haines prepares a Slamber cocktail at Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

Intact employee James Curtis smokes wood for a cocktail at the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

The half pizza and salad highlight the menu at Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

The Smoked Kojito cocktail at the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

BLT Salad is one of many salads available at the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021. (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

Intact employee James Curtis prepares a non-alcoholic cocktail called the smoked kojito at the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021. (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

Unimpaired Dry Bar is the first bar that does not serve alcohol and hopes to inspire more people to embrace the sober lifestyle at Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

The new location is Dry Bar’s second in Iowa, with the first in Davenport

IOWA CITY – After 17 years as a bartender, Unimpaired co-owner Amber Haines said there was only one thing she didn’t like about bars – the pressure to drink.

With a location in Davenport, Haines and his co-owner Jim Thomson are aiming for Iowa City as a place where the fun of a bar without the pressure of drinking could make a difference for students at the University of Iowa, which has been listed. as a leading party school by the Princeton Review until 2018.

Despite being a dry bar, Unimpaired has plenty to quench your thirst for craft drinks, quirky pizzas, and amenities for a fun night out.

Eyes on Iowa City

“Our eyes were on Iowa City early on,” said Haines, 37, of Blue Grass. “We wanted to be more there for the academic audience. It’s a big difference between Davenport and Iowa City.

Working with the University of Iowa’s Alcohol Harm Reduction Advisory Committee and Fraternity & Sorority Life to Reduce Student Alcohol Use, Unimpaired is already making an impact by providing students with a social space. alternative that does not revolve around alcohol.

As programs attempt to reduce alcohol consumption among students, positive alternatives make up the difference. Some sororities are now booking semi-formal dances with Unimpaired, Haines said.

“Now that alcohol is sold at games, I think they’re really trying to do their part,” she said.

But with Unimpaired, students don’t have to feel like they’re missing out on anything. Walking into Unimpaired is like any other bar in the city center.

“I tried to put together all the different key socializing factors that I think would help people come here to socialize,” Haines said, including a pool table, sports TVs, bar games. , great music and adult drinks that taste like the real thing.

While the option may appeal to students who are not yet old enough to go to bars with their 21+ friends, Unimpaired is a space that provides a safe and fun environment for anyone who doesn’t want to drink. .

The pressure to drink

Before purchasing his first bar in his hometown of Blue Grass, Haines decided to quit drinking and reassess his relationship with alcohol – not because of personal struggles with alcohol addiction, but for avoid the alcoholism that reigns in his family. She has now been sober for four years.

“When I go out the pressure is incredible,” she said. “(The drinkers) act like you’re the weirdo who don’t drink.”

She sees other regulars succumbing to the pressure at her only bar that serves alcohol, Mayne Street Pub-N-Grub, even when they decide not to drink.

After opening her bar and regularly serving her brother, she saw him develop an addiction. Her father had previously died of alcoholism.

“I almost felt guilty. … While in rehab I had constant troubles, ”she said. “If there was another place he could go with his friends without alcohol, then he would. I thought, ‘Why isn’t there a place like this?’ “

Zero-proof substitutes

Giving up alcohol doesn’t necessarily mean giving up the taste, with a growing industry dedicated to making zero-proof substitutes that taste like your favorite rum, vodka, tequila, or beer.

Jackless Coke has a spicy flavor similar to that of Jack Daniel’s. Zero proof gin has the same juniper bite as your regular gin.

Other cocktails like the Slamber are as fun and fruity as those served in other bars and restaurants, with fresh fruit and substitutes that will make you feel like you haven’t missed a thing. With these drinks, Haines has seen others remember how to have fun without alcohol.

“I have the impression that it is the placebo effect. On a Saturday night when the lights are dim, we have an acoustic number here, you drink, you talk, ”she said. “I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”

Not your typical bar food

A menu of artisanal pizzas is also presented alongside all the other amenities of a bar.

A pizza connoisseur, Haines brings the signatures that started her Blue Grass bar like The Mayne, topped with nacho cheese sauce, tater tots, bacon, sour cream and green onions. More adventurous options include the chili macaroni with chili cheese and crushed fritos.

Salads have also been added for a healthy option and can be ordered with half pizzas.

Unimpaired co-owner Amber Haines says her goal for the space is to feel like a bar without the influence of alcohol at Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

The Iowa City, Iowa employee prepares a non-alcoholic cocktail at the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

Several non-alcoholic spirits are used for cocktails at the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021. (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

Unimpaired Dry Bar offers a variety of mocktails, pizzas, and salads at Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021 (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

The Unimpaired Dry Bar features plenty of seating and several artwork to showcase the space of the Unimpaired Dry Bar in Iowa City, Iowa on Monday, November 22, 2021. (Savannah Blake / The Gazette)

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