The old Lodge hotel in Bettendorf was torn down in 2016, but a new Lodge has opened inside the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport.
The café space has been transformed into Figge’s new winter retreat, opening Thursday, December 11th, with live music, craft cocktails, seasonal bites, open galleries, and the soft glow of Evanescent Field. For six nights through January, they will start with live folk music by Liv Carrow. No reservations required. Admission to the museum is free every Thursday from 5-8 p.m.
The museum decided to offer the new programs (and menu) during this winter hiatus in free second-floor programming every Thursday night year-round (when the bar is also open), spokeswoman Natalie Dunlop said Tuesday, December 9th.
“We just thought, it was kind of an opportunity for us to utilize that space and try something different, bring in a new audience,” she said. “It’s appealing to a lot of different people to come in and kind of have a relaxing atmosphere, so that was kind of our goal. We thought, let's transform the space, and then bring in some local musicians.”
“There's gonna be six times that we do this, and we'll have a different artist each time and then there's also specialty cocktails, so it's just a real fun evening.”
After Thursday night’s first one, upcoming dates/performances at the Lodge will be:
- Thursday, December 18 - Tobin Kirk (country)
- Thursday, January 8 - Randy Leasman (acoustic singer/songwriter)
- Thursday, January 15 - Angela Meyer (country)
- Thursday, January 22 - Lojo Russo (classic rock)
- Thursday, January 29 - David G Smith (roots)
“It just tends to be kind of a slower time at the museum,” Dunlop said of winter. “We thought, why not try to kind of re-energize that space and provide just kind of a -- it's not really a Christmassy feel. I mean, there obviously are some Christmas decorations -- it's more of a lodge feel to it.’
“So it's really perfect for gathering with friends, maybe a happy hour, maybe a date night,” she said. “If you have family in town, it's kind of a great thing to come to just kind of relax, especially take the edge off during the holidays.”
The bar menu will feature several specialty drinks – including a S’mores Old Fashioned ($12), German spiced mulled wine ($10), Caramel Cream ($9), Iced Creamy Iced Coffee ($7), Iced Mint Cocoa ($7) and non-alcoholic pine and maple lemonade ($5).
The food options will include flatbread pizzas ($10/$18), smoked salmon flatbread ($14/$24), burgers ($17), plus poutine, mini Beef Wellingtons, and meatball skewers for $12.
There are no plans to reopen the café on a regular basis, beyond special events and Thursday night programs, Dunlop said. The bar also is open the second Saturday each month from 1-3 p.m.
One positive effect of getting dark earlier in the day, is seeing the museum lit up earlier after dusk, with the permanent light installation “Evanescent Field,” which began last May.
“It is really cool in that space right now for The Lodge because it's gonna be dark and you'll be able to really see Evanescent Field, the building illuminated really nicely in there,” Dunlop said. “It's just kind of a cool vibe because we're gonna keep the lights low inside.”
The tables will have electric candle displays as well.
Typically, the exterior lighting is turned off around 3 a.m. daily, Dunlop said.
“Absolutely, it's kind of a cool, it's just such a cool vibe and when you're inside the building and it's lit up it's a completely different experience than previously,” she said. “It's really it's kind of something special to experience for sure.”
For more information on the Figge, click HERE.
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