ADVERTISEMENT

High-end tequila bar Coa Cantina to open at former Clinton Street Social Club location in Iowa City

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
77,113
58,286
113
Coa Cantina, a tequila bar based in Des Moines, will open a second location in Iowa City in January.

The bar will move into the space that formerly housed the Clinton Street Social Club, located at 18½ S. Clinton St.

Coa Cantina, located in the East Village of Des Moines, announced the news on its Facebook page Thursday.

James Thyberg, co-owner of Coa Cantina, told the Press-Citizen that the Iowa City bar scene is “great” and that he and his business partners had been looking at this space for the past year.

The layout of the former Clinton Street Social Club, Thyberg said, is similar to Coa Cantina’s location in Des Moines, meaning they won’t have to do a full remodel.

More:Ahead of its New York premiere, 'Bones and All' screens in Iowa City as part of Refocus Film Festival


Thyberg and his business partner, Ryan Flattery, also own the bar Bellhop and the music venue Gas Lamp, both in Des Moines.

The bar serves nachos, carnitas tacos, burritos, Mexican-style street corn and margaritas, from one made with house-made peach puree and blanco tequila to Tierra Roja, a strawberry- and saffron-infused tequila with lemon, sherry, cinnamon and peppercorn.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Thyberg said. “Margaritas obviously are very, very common and well-known. But what we do is we make them very well and we use high-end products and quality tequila, quality ingredients in all of our drinks and everything is handmade to order.”


From a $450 shot of tequila — Thyberg said the bar sells shots of tequila worth $100 all day long — to a can of Tecate, Coa Cantina offers a variety of drinks.

Coa Cantina opened in November 2020 in Des Moines. Despite pandemic-induced obstacles, Thyberg said the bar found great support among its customers and staff.

 
Coa Cantina, a tequila bar based in Des Moines, will open a second location in Iowa City in January.

The bar will move into the space that formerly housed the Clinton Street Social Club, located at 18½ S. Clinton St.

Coa Cantina, located in the East Village of Des Moines, announced the news on its Facebook page Thursday.

James Thyberg, co-owner of Coa Cantina, told the Press-Citizen that the Iowa City bar scene is “great” and that he and his business partners had been looking at this space for the past year.

The layout of the former Clinton Street Social Club, Thyberg said, is similar to Coa Cantina’s location in Des Moines, meaning they won’t have to do a full remodel.

More:Ahead of its New York premiere, 'Bones and All' screens in Iowa City as part of Refocus Film Festival


Thyberg and his business partner, Ryan Flattery, also own the bar Bellhop and the music venue Gas Lamp, both in Des Moines.

The bar serves nachos, carnitas tacos, burritos, Mexican-style street corn and margaritas, from one made with house-made peach puree and blanco tequila to Tierra Roja, a strawberry- and saffron-infused tequila with lemon, sherry, cinnamon and peppercorn.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Thyberg said. “Margaritas obviously are very, very common and well-known. But what we do is we make them very well and we use high-end products and quality tequila, quality ingredients in all of our drinks and everything is handmade to order.”


From a $450 shot of tequila — Thyberg said the bar sells shots of tequila worth $100 all day long — to a can of Tecate, Coa Cantina offers a variety of drinks.

Coa Cantina opened in November 2020 in Des Moines. Despite pandemic-induced obstacles, Thyberg said the bar found great support among its customers and staff.

They're just destroying One Eyed Jakes!! lol
 
Yeah, is that well liquor?
So, my wife is a tequila drinker. I buy her expensive bottles of tequila several times a year. I'm always looking for something new and interesting. There are some ridiculously expensive collectors editions out there, but for the most part you can buy excellent bottles for what this place is charging for shots.
 
So, my wife is a tequila drinker. I buy her expensive bottles of tequila several times a year. I'm always looking for something new and interesting. There are some ridiculously expensive collectors editions out there, but for the most part you can buy excellent bottles for what this place is charging for shots.
Yeah, there are serious diminishing returns in tequila. Very good doesn’t require a fortune.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT