MONTICELLO — The Blind Pig has landed in a new town.

In May 2023 — nearly nine years after it launched in Cedar Rapids — the bar and grill mainstay opened its second location.

With a new aesthetic, the expansion wasted no time in establishing itself on Monticello’s main street.

how did it happen

Since becoming a Cedar Rapids staple, owners Ryan and Megan Evans have had a limited vision for The Blind Pig. When Jitney Wine Bar on East First Street closed, friends encouraged them to head to Jones County.

“It was the building they grew up in. There were bars or restaurants here and a lot of them worked here or frequented here,” Megan Evans said. “It had sentimental value”

The second floor of the 1860s building, which previously housed two apartments, was vacated. The building’s original walls were reinforced with dry ice spray to prevent chipping, preserving the building’s natural charm.

Private cabins offer comfortable seating under copper ceiling tiles on the first floor. From the second floor, diners can get a bird’s eye view of the train tracks of the old bar ceiling from The Jitney, named after the train lines, as well as wall shelves filled with knick-knacks that extend from the second floor ceiling to the lower level. downstairs.

Diners can be a part of it, too. Everyone who brings their pork tchotchke will receive a free lunch.

While the Cedar Rapids location’s name began as a historical reference to the Prohibition Era, the Monticello location’s main decor theme is a reference to the endearing “Piggy” nickname the brand’s regulars have earned over the years. Edison bulbs and other early 20th-century aesthetics throughout the building add a second layer to the design scheme.

“There are things here that represent Monticello,” Megan said; this includes a wall featuring displays from The Great Jones County Fair over the years.

The idea of ​​restoring the second floor of the building was a matter of necessity. Ryan was initially inspired to build multi-level stands like restaurants in Asia, where floor space can be extremely limited.

“We have to work on the quantity, we don’t sell expensive products,” he said.

Ryan, 44, has worked in the service industry all his life; There are also well-established names in the region, such as Timmerman’s Supper Club in East Dubuque, Illinois. Owner of Marion’s Cocktails & Co. since 2013.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Megan came to the industry during college summers through Granite City in Cedar Rapids and The Brown Bottle in Cedar Falls. She met Ryan at Cocktails & Co., where he worked as a server.

After working as a Four Oaks consultant for 11 years, Megan joined the restaurant industry full-time to escape mental burnout.

The couple has since owned and sold Pedaler’s Fork in Cedar Rapids. They too two dive bars opened In Cedar Rapids, managed by Megan.

Menu

Coming in at three pages, Blind Pig’s Monticello menu is an abbreviated but powerful curation of the Cedar Rapids menu.

“The heavy hitters are there—burgers, salads, tenderloins,” Megan said. “Nothing extreme, but always good and consistent.”

Less common finds like funnel cake fries and fried green beans are featured prominently on the appetizer menu, along with a strong showing of burgers and hot sandwiches.

The signature Jacked Mac sauce, a spicy white nacho cheese with Monterrey and ghost peppers, can be found on chicken sandwiches, burgers, macaroni, cheese and nachos.

And as lovers of a good game with words, there are plenty of appetizers on the menu, which is a great “filling up” factor.

“Our job is to pile a lot of things on top of each other,” Megan said. “There are so many options with so much food; I think people like it. “It’s a big part of the money we get.”

The Pig Out Burger is topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, barbecue pulled pork, onion rolls and jalapeno aioli. Pig Out Loin is piled high with cheddar cheese, onions, barbecue pulled pork, and homemade coleslaw. Nachos are stacked in a similar manner.

Don’t overlook the tenderloin either. Blind Pork tenderloin dipped in buttermilk and spices and fried in cracker bread, I am the top five contestantsThis year’s award for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin from the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

The Monticello and Cedar Rapids locations sold 40 to 70 tenderloins per day throughout the competition.

A wide variety of beers and special cocktails are waiting for you to drink. The extensive menu, which includes seasonal pop-ups, was inspired by the couple’s trip to Ireland.

“This has progressed over the years,” Megan said. “I’m more interested in cocktails because I love drinking them.”

Comments: News reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or [email protected].