Nate Kaeding first became Iowa famous for making a game-winning kick for the University of Iowa’s Hawkeye football team at the 2001 Alamo Bowl.
After college he spent nine years in the NFL, mostly playing for San Diego Chargers. During his time in the NFL, he played in all 32 stadiums and visited their cities, studying how the restaurants of places like New Orleans, Boston or Chicago fit into the culture.
“It kind of got the wheels turning for me, always knowing that I was going to move back to Iowa when I was finished with football — thinking about, what is Iowa culture like?” Kaeding said. “What is Iowa City like? What does it mean to have an iconic Iowa City restaurant?”
When reoccurring injuries marked the end of his football career, he returned to Iowa City for his second chapter. Kaeding got his master’s degree in business from the University of Iowa and joined forces with some restaurateur friends and hospitality professionals.
“They're operating and doing the day to day, and I kind of brought some expertise in around the marketing, the branding, the concept creation and some of those sort of elements,” he said. “We work really well together as a team.”
The result has been Gold Cap Hospitality, a restaurant collective that owns Pullman Bar & Grill, St. Burch Tavern and Hamburg Inn No 2. Kaeding, a founding partner, said the group wanted to create restaurants in downtown Iowa City that would appeal to customers beyond students.
“We really wanted to bring an elevated hospitality experience that felt unique to downtown Iowa City there, because we knew that people wanted to come downtown, but we wanted to give them another reason, where they could experience downtown but also have a great meal and a great experience inside one of those restaurants that wasn't just a college bar.”
In the Iowa Famous series we're highlighting people with all types of connections to our state who have made an impact in arts, politics, social justice, education, sports and more. View all the Iowa Famous stories here. Have an idea of someone we should feature? Email talkofiowa@iowapublicradio.org.
