The public is invited to celebrate a joint ribbon-cutting Friday, April 22, for Pour Bros. Craft Taproom and the David B. Sears Pedestrian Bridge, the Fourth Avenue overpass linking the venue to Moline’s CentreStation.
The event begins with a 4 p.m. Grand Opening Cocktail Hour at Pour Bros., 1209 Fourth Ave., Suite 2. The ribbon-cutting is at 5:20 p.m. inside Pour Boys followed at 5:30 p.m. with drinks and a meet and greet.
Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati is expected to speak at the ceremony along with Nick Holke, general manager of the Element Hotel, and Rob Mathisen, a Pour Bros. co-owner. Moline is the third location for the Pour Bros. brand.
“Pour Bros. brings a new and exciting venue for gathering with the important people in our lives and for exploring cider, wine, and beer brands they might not otherwise have the opportunity to try,” Ms. Rayapati told the QCBJ on Monday, April 18. “Their business model is unique and offers variety in a community that is home to many wonderful establishments. We want to bring that spirit of exploration to our downtown in all kinds of ways and Pour Bros. has been a great partner in that effort.”
The Moline Pour Bros., which is next to the Element Hotel, opened in early January. In addition to serving as its official Grand Opening, the Friday event also will celebrate the pedestrian bridge.
Originally referred to as Sear’s Crossing by some, the David B. Sears Pedestrian Bridge connects the north and south sides of Fourth Ave., gives pedestrians safe and easy access to downtown moline from River Drive. It was named for Mr. Sears, a prominent Moline founding father responsible for harnessing the power of the Mississippi River and its tributaries that helped attract John Deere and other manufacturers to the “City of Mills.”
The bridge itself was a cooperative venture between the City of Moline and MetroLink and it completed an ambitious Fourth Avenue redevelopment project that included the hotel and the suite occupied by Pour Bros. as well as retail spaces.
The intermodal station development designed to serve businesses and retailers also included a passenger rail platform at 12th Street and Fourth Avenue to serve passenger train service from Chicago to the Quad Cities.
State, federal, and local leaders, including the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, continue to campaign to bring the frequently promised but never delivered service to downtown Moline.
In February, for example, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told the QCBJ that he remains committed to bringing the service to downtown Moline following a press conference about HIS at the Quad Cities Botanical Center in Rock Island.
