Hunter
04/22/26
The Iowa City City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to deny renewal of The Union Bar & Grill’s liquor license and premises update.
The Daily Iowan reports The Union Bar & Grill first opened in 1993 and served as one of Iowa City’s most popular destinations for crowds and live music for 27 years. The bar closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.
The building has been the home of the Stuffed Olive and Tap Tap since 2022.
The Union Bar & Grill reopened at a new location, the former Cactus 3 space on South Clinton Street, two doors down from the Fieldhouse, both owned by developer Tracy Barkalow. When the Union’s liquor license was approved in March 2025, it was only permitted to serve alcohol between 11am and midnight and certified as an eating establishment.
However, Iowa City Police Department Lt. Rob Cash told the Council that the Union consistently operates until 2am.
City code requires new drinking establishments to be at least 500 feet of another drinking establishment. The Union sits within that boundry with Giddy Up and the Fieldhouse.
Barkalow submitted updated building plans to the city that included a remodel of the first floor before it reopened in February, but allegedly neglected to submit an update with the State Department of Revenue.
The Council determined that as a drinking establishment, they were violating City Code and denied the license renewal.
Barkalow faced the same situation with the Fieldhouse, and appealed the decision, allowing the bar to continue operating until the appeal process runs its course.