IC’s Ped Mall goes upscale with new boutiques and shops

By Adam Moore

IOWA CITY—If you were walking through the Dubuque Street portion of the Pedestrian Mall on the afternoon of Sept. 26, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled into a trendy scene from SoHo or Bucktown.

A DJ spun dance tracks just outside of Park@201, Marc Moen’s glass-encased high-rise, while guests and curious patrons strode across the red carpet and into the new (and packed) home of Buzz Salon. Just across the way, attendees mingled with drinks outside of a new boutique decked out in the Union Jack, while next door, two young men played vintage arcade games set up just outside the storefront.

The Friday event was a celebration for the opening of six new businesses in this tiny section of the Ped Mall – and the latest manifestation of big-city style and small-town feel Iowa City is known for.

“I’ve always been in love with Iowa City. It’s kind of like Iowa’s best-kept secret,” said Jodi Connolly, the founder and owner of Buzz Salon. “I love that you walk everywhere. I like an urban, very central community. ”

Buzz Salon (110 S. Dubuque)completed its move from its former location across the mall into the ground floor of Park@201 earlier this spring. The design of the 1,900-square-foot salon plays the exposed concrete of the building’s frame against its glass walls and lofted mezzanine to create a bold, modern aesthetic. The space includes a compact retail area and 12 chairs, all of which are “all full and very busy,” Ms. Connolly said.

It turns out that Ms. Connolly is a common thread running through the area’s new look. Neda Shirazi, owner of Sicily Boutique (115 S Dubuque) and neighbor to Ms. Connolly, gives her credit for encouraging her to open her first store, after working as a personal shopper and stylist.

“She was the first person who supported me. She offered the place to me,” Ms. Shirazi recalled. “She said, ‘Hey Neda, my space is going to be open. Are you ready to do something for yourself?’”

The resulting 1,000-square-foot space is what Ms. Connolly aptly called “mini New York.” The store’s light colors and earthy touches provide the perfect canvas for outfits from high-fashion brands like Oak and Opening Ceremony, and handmade pieces from France and Italy.

Next door to Sicily Boutique sits Forbidden Planet (111 S. Dubuque)– what longtime residents and nostalgic smokers will remember as the Tobacco Bowl. The store, owned by Jodi’s husband, Tommy Connolly, closed in mid-May before undergoing an extensive (and by some reports, arduous) cleanup and renovation.

It will reopen as a pizzeria and vintage arcade, “an idea whose time has come,” said Luther Moss, co-owner of Forbidden Planet, as he stood in front the still papered-over windows. Patrons can expect 12-15 arcade games and pinball machines, along with Neapolitan and deep dish-style pizzas.

On the other side of Forbidden Planet sits Catherine’s X French Connection (105 S. Dubuque), the latest retail concept from downtown mainstay Catherine Champion. Built in the former home of Cheap & Chic (also owned by Ms. Champion) and dressed in bold reds and blues, the 700-square-foot boutique offers men’s and women’s selections from the popular U.K. fashion brand the store is named after.

“We decided to incorporate a young men’s store downtown but also play off a brand that we’ve had a lot of success with,” said Ms. Champion.

A longtime friend of Mr. and Ms. Connolly, as well as a member of the Downtown District’s board of directors, Ms. Champion said that the celebratory event was a natural outgrowth of the informal business ethos they’ve all tried to engender in their piece of the Ped Mall.

“We’ve known each other for a million years, and it’s only natural that we would try to share spaces or ideas,” Ms. Champion said amidst thumping bass. “I’m from the belief of being a partner with people who share successes, and sort of creating a gigantic co-op.”

“Part of that belief is having people do things together,” she added.

As the guests and employees of tech companies MetaCommunications and Digital Artefacts, the two other new tenants of Park@201 and participants in the opening event, mingled with the fashionistas and trend-setters of Buzz Salon over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, that mission appeared accomplished.

“It looks like it’s fun,” Ms. Connolly said when asked if the group of six would plan events together in the future. “If everybody has fun and wants to do it again, why not?”