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New restaurant, tequila bar opens along Highway 965

By Gigi Wood

There’s a new food choice for area commuters.

Agave Bar & Grill located at 2781 Oakdale Blvd. in the Grand Rail development set up shop about two months ago. It is open for lunch and dinner with menu choices that include panini sandwiches, homemade soups and wraps.

“It’s a lighter option, it’s not your traditional bar food,” says Jake Huth, kitchen manager at Agave.

The business also features an extensive tequila bar with brands ranging from Don Julio that goes for $55 a shot to less expensive choices. There are more than 80 different tequilas available. The restaurant uses tequila in some of its entrees as well.

“We carry as many as the state will allow us to,” says owner Ned Mendenhall.

The business can seat nearly 100 people and may open an outdoor beer garden in the spring. It has a casual atmosphere with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Buffett playing in the background. Bands are on tap to perform at Agave on the weekends and the restaurant is already being booked for holiday parties.

Mendenhall opened Agave after running the First Avenue Club at 1550 S. First Ave. in Iowa City for 14 years. The First Avenue Club is now Club Furia, a Hispanic dance venue.

He says he was ready for a less-hectic work schedule than the one required at the 10,000-square-foot club, where it took him two to three hours a day to mop. He also became a tequila aficionado in recent years and wanted to try his hand at a tequila bar.

“Tequila sales are rising nationwide,” he says.

He expects his customers will come from nearby businesses and the new developments at Oakdale Research Park, located about a block away.

“The Corridor is really growing,” Mendenhall says. “We’re excited to grow with the area.”

Some customers stop in because they tire of waiting in traffic along Highway 965 during rush hour.

“They can see the street from here so they come in and wait for the traffic to calm down,” he says.

This article originally appeared in the Coralville Business Journal.