This story is part of the QCBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal includes some of the biggest stories we brought you in 2023. It’s also a tradition by our parent company, Corridor Media Group, based in North Liberty, Iowa. This story was originally published in […]
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This story is part of the QCBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal includes some of the biggest stories we brought you in 2023. It’s also a tradition by our parent company, Corridor Media Group, based in North Liberty, Iowa.
This story was originally published in June 2023.
The partial collapse of a downtown Davenport apartment building has been a tragedy. When part of the 324 Main St. building — called The Davenport — came down on Sunday, May 28, 2023, three tenants were killed in the incident, and dozens of residents were left homeless and lost almost all of their property. But the tragedy also has hit the business community. Almost 20 businesses — three on the first floor of the apartment building and many near the building site — also have taken a hit. Those businesses have been forced to close, and the three businesses in The Davenport building have lost everything, according to Kyle Carter, executive director of the business advocate group Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP). Those businesses that were inside the collapsed structure are: Envied Vintage Clothing, Etc. at 330 Main St.; Fourth Street Nutrition at 207 Fourth St., and the performance art theater Mockingbird on Main at 320 Main St. About 15 other businesses near the building have been forced to close, but will likely reopen in the coming weeks. “The magnitude of this is just beginning to be felt. ... We have reached out to all 18 of these businesses to see how we can help. We have touched base with all of them,” added Mr. Carter. The DDP leader told the QCBJ that financial help is on the way for the downtown businesses. The City of Davenport has created an aid package for the businesses that includes $25,000 for the three businesses in the building, and $5,000 for other businesses near the building and impacted by the disaster. More financial help is likely coming. Mr. Carter said the DDP is putting together another package to help the businesses and he is “highly confident” it will get approval from the partnership’s board. DDP is an initiative of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. The details of that package were not available at press time, but Mr. Carter told the QCBJ that it would be similar to the financial aid package that helped businesses hit by the 2019 flood in downtown Davenport. That package included a total of almost $400,000 for the businesses. “This new package will be above and beyond what the city is already doing,” he added. Downtown business owners said they are grateful for the help and the community support. Savannah Strandin, one of the owners of Mockingbird on Main, said even though the performance art theater is closed, the show will eventually go on. She recently announced that the Mockingbird’s July production of “The Glass Menagerie” will be presented at another venue, but details and new location have yet to be announced. “The Bird will indeed fly again and we will be unveiling those plans over the next several weeks. It will take us some time to re-open,” said Ms. Strandin. Even though there are high hopes for business comebacks, some in the community said there is still a lot of pain and frustration about the partial building collapse. The owners of Fourth Street Nutrition posted this message on its Facebook page: “Y’all, it’s been a terrible experience during the holiday. Our business is gone, gone. ... All the labor, all the learning, all the setup, the late nights, long days, it’s all gone. When you’re a business owner, your customers come first, no matter what, and we thought we would come first, but we did not.” Others in the local business community said they want all the businesses hit by the tragedy to know they have their support. “We stand in support of the individuals and businesses that are impacted by this unimaginable tragedy,” Quad Cities Chamber CEO LaDrina Wilson said. “We realize that there are still a lot of questions, including whether or not it’s appropriate to come downtown.” Ms. Wilson added that many of the downtown “businesses are very much open, and they would love your support. We would hate to see these businesses be even further impacted by misinformation regarding access.” In fact, at least one downtown business might be seeing some benefits from the partial building collapse. The QCBJ asked Brandon Carleton whether the rerouting of traffic from downtown Davenport had adversely impacted his Blue Spruce Bakery and General Store at 217 E. Second St. He said: “Our traffic and sales numbers have trended up over the last week. My perception is the opposite, that people are flocking downtown to support the businesses.”
The partial collapse of a downtown Davenport apartment building has been a tragedy. When part of the 324 Main St. building — called The Davenport — came down on Sunday, May 28, 2023, three tenants were killed in the incident, and dozens of residents were left homeless and lost almost all of their property. But the tragedy also has hit the business community. Almost 20 businesses — three on the first floor of the apartment building and many near the building site — also have taken a hit. Those businesses have been forced to close, and the three businesses in The Davenport building have lost everything, according to Kyle Carter, executive director of the business advocate group Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP). Those businesses that were inside the collapsed structure are: Envied Vintage Clothing, Etc. at 330 Main St.; Fourth Street Nutrition at 207 Fourth St., and the performance art theater Mockingbird on Main at 320 Main St. About 15 other businesses near the building have been forced to close, but will likely reopen in the coming weeks. “The magnitude of this is just beginning to be felt. ... We have reached out to all 18 of these businesses to see how we can help. We have touched base with all of them,” added Mr. Carter. The DDP leader told the QCBJ that financial help is on the way for the downtown businesses. The City of Davenport has created an aid package for the businesses that includes $25,000 for the three businesses in the building, and $5,000 for other businesses near the building and impacted by the disaster. More financial help is likely coming. Mr. Carter said the DDP is putting together another package to help the businesses and he is “highly confident” it will get approval from the partnership’s board. DDP is an initiative of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. The details of that package were not available at press time, but Mr. Carter told the QCBJ that it would be similar to the financial aid package that helped businesses hit by the 2019 flood in downtown Davenport. That package included a total of almost $400,000 for the businesses. “This new package will be above and beyond what the city is already doing,” he added. Downtown business owners said they are grateful for the help and the community support. Savannah Strandin, one of the owners of Mockingbird on Main, said even though the performance art theater is closed, the show will eventually go on. She recently announced that the Mockingbird’s July production of “The Glass Menagerie” will be presented at another venue, but details and new location have yet to be announced. “The Bird will indeed fly again and we will be unveiling those plans over the next several weeks. It will take us some time to re-open,” said Ms. Strandin. Even though there are high hopes for business comebacks, some in the community said there is still a lot of pain and frustration about the partial building collapse. The owners of Fourth Street Nutrition posted this message on its Facebook page: “Y’all, it’s been a terrible experience during the holiday. Our business is gone, gone. ... All the labor, all the learning, all the setup, the late nights, long days, it’s all gone. When you’re a business owner, your customers come first, no matter what, and we thought we would come first, but we did not.” Others in the local business community said they want all the businesses hit by the tragedy to know they have their support. “We stand in support of the individuals and businesses that are impacted by this unimaginable tragedy,” Quad Cities Chamber CEO LaDrina Wilson said. “We realize that there are still a lot of questions, including whether or not it’s appropriate to come downtown.” Ms. Wilson added that many of the downtown “businesses are very much open, and they would love your support. We would hate to see these businesses be even further impacted by misinformation regarding access.” In fact, at least one downtown business might be seeing some benefits from the partial building collapse. The QCBJ asked Brandon Carleton whether the rerouting of traffic from downtown Davenport had adversely impacted his Blue Spruce Bakery and General Store at 217 E. Second St. He said: “Our traffic and sales numbers have trended up over the last week. My perception is the opposite, that people are flocking downtown to support the businesses.”
