March Update

Silver Dollar Cantina: The Rebirth of a Downtown Landmark
by Mike Ironside - 365Ink Magazine, March 20, 2007

If you read Bryce’s column, you have already learned that the Silver Dollar Cantina, that lost icon of Dubuque’s downtown entertainment scene, is about to make a comeback. If you didn’t, you might want to read it or at least re-read the previous sentence because it is true - the Dollar is finally coming back.

Actually the word “rebirth” in our subhead is a bit of a misnomer, or at least premature, as that technically will not happen for a long while. As you might imagine, there is a lot of work to do. But the wheels are set in motion for an incredible rehabilitation project to begin, which is hoped for completion in six months. That sets up the new Silver Dollar for a September / October opening. The very day this issue went to press, we met with Steve Althoff, owner of the Silver Dollar and the Old German Bank building that served as the Cantina’s historic home. Together with Steve Behr, project manager from Gronen Restoration, a partner in the rehab project, we toured the burned-out shell of what was once the most happening place on Main Street.

A quick recap on the history: Before that fateful fire on October 1, 2001, the Silver Dollar was a primary downtown nightlife destination and the prototype for much of the development of what has now become the Old Main entertainment district. Pepper Sprout chef / proprietor Kim Wolff cooked for the Tex-Mex restaurant in that little back kitchen, as did Lot One owner Joe Zwack and cook Andy Hoffman.

Anyway, I’ve spent more time reminiscing here than I had intended. I think walking through what’s left of the space brought back a lot of memories. The charred remains of the wall murals remain and smoke and water have blurred just beyond legibility the name on the chalkboard of the last band that played there. But our focus here is not about the past, but the future.

While that might be a pretty rough sketch of what is to come, don’t worry. The 365 crew will be following this project closely (our office is only three blocks away), so expect more photos and updates here and in 365ink.

It may not be exactly the same, but the Silver Dollar will be back.

Remembering the Dollar
From the Publisher's Inkubator of the March 22 issue of 365ink Magazine.
by Bryce Parks

I think rumors and speculation about what’s happening to the Silver Dollar are have been outweighed in the past six years only by the absolute certainty that Red Lobster is coming to Dubuque in a few months. It’s now been 15 years and a few months and we’re still waiting. The Silver Dollar, on the other hand, is a slightly more tactile reality. In fact, at this point its rise from the ashes is a certainty.

I’m not going to go into details about the project as that’s what Mike’s great article is about, but I do want to, if you’ll come with me, speculate why exactly this is so noteworthy. The Silver Dollar burned on October 1, 2001. I was there. I have video of it that I’ll put on Dubuque365.com if you’ve got a minute to visit when you get back to the computer. It was pretty devastating to a lot of people. Like any established bar, there was a family of employees, friends and regulars who looked to the Dollar as the hub of their social circle.

For many it was the hub of their dietary requirements. It’s been six years and I still have much of the menu still memorized. Do you remember the Woodbine Burrito? How about the Portabella Mushroom Quesadilla or the Blacked Chicked Caesar Salad? I’m tearing up now just thinking about it. And the wings. Man, I loved the wings. Not too long ago Lot One at the corner of 1st and Main started serving wings that instantly made my eyes grow large. They weren’t hot. They were Silver Dollar wings! One of the many things that has changed in six years is the fact that onetime cook at the Dollar Joe Zwack is now the owner of Lot One. He’s not the only cook from the Dollar making tasty things at Lot One. It’s a secret coup! Needless to say, I wait with bated breath with many others to see if our favorites from the menu of old will return triumphantly to 222 Main Street.

The biggest impending loss that came with the closing of the Dollar was the possible extinction of original touring music from the Dubuque nightlife scene. While Dubuque had a strong live music scene even then, there were very few, and by that I mean very very few, bars that were featuring live music by original bands and national touring acts. The Silver Dollar was the one place you know you could go and hear something different. Something great. I’m not knocking cover bands. I’m in one. But it sure is fun to get exposed to fresh stuff. And fresh was always on the menu at the Dollar. Bands like Planet Melvin, Cave Cat Sammy, Brother Trucker, Smokin’ With Superman and the Bent Scepters squeezed onto the tiny stage. Since the fire, I had never seen House of Large Sizes live again before they disbanded in 2003. What was to become of our alternative music experience?

As if by stroke of fate, the Busted Lift had opened down the street not too long before. Originally heavily featuring traditional Irish music and acoustic acts (remember, it first used to only be a one-sided bar, 20 feet wide with no stage), it soon expanded its horizons and, to a great extent, picked up the torch of the Silver Dollar. To this day there is no bar in Dubuque with more live music more nights a week and featuring a more diverse schedule of artists. I feel like it was all inspired by the energy of the Silver Dollar.

Now, just a few years later, EVERYTHING in the downtown entertainment landscape has changed. There are eight places to have a beer and some fun in just a couple of blocks. What place can the Dollar fill when it comes back? Will it regain its glory? Is its glory distorted by six-year-old fond memories? Will it look the same or feel the same? Will it even have live music? Did the little Mexican statue dude inside the front window survive the fire? Are those of us who loved the Dollar still alive and local to enjoy the place or did most of us move away, die or worse yet, have three kids and move to the suburbs? Just kidding, of course (You know who you are.)

I for one think the Dollar has great potential to be another anchor in the burgeoning downtown cultural landscape. It was a destination nightspot when it was, to a great degree, on its own down there. Even with competition, I think the added draw of many destinations in one areas will only give it more viability to survive and thrive. Just like the Red Lobster that’s going into the Los Arcos building on J.F.K. Or was that a Hooters?

I’ll have the wings, please, and the first band back has got to be the Bent Scepters. That's all I ask!