Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-state area. This edition highlights developments in Dubuque and Manchester, Iowa.

A Davenport-based restaurant has expanded to Dubuque by operating out of the kitchen of a downtown bar.

Kitchen Brigade is now operating at Fox Den Motel, 920 Main St. While cohabiting the space, the businesses are separate, with Kitchen Brigade solely focusing on food and Fox Den Motel providing drinks, events and concerts.

“The inspiration behind the Kitchen Brigade in Davenport came from travels in Europe and eating at a lot of restaurants and bars and realizing I was not eating food I was familiar with in the Midwest,” Kitchen Brigade owner Chad Cushman said. “We want to bring a little bit of flare and something different. We’re not your cookie-cutter bar food.”

Kitchen Brigade has been in Davenport for two years, operating out of Stompbox Brewing. Cushman said he is excited to bring the menu to Dubuque, including the best-selling burger.

“The first time we did a pop-up (at Fox Den Motel) a couple of months ago, in the one day we had a half dozen people tell us we had the best burger in Dubuque already,” he said. “That was very encouraging. I thought, ‘Whoa, we’re not even here yet.’ That’s what we thrive off of, making people happy.”

Cushman said they plan to roll out a five-item menu in Dubuque to start and add more items over time.

“Down in Davenport, we’ve never had more than 13 menu items,” he added. “The days of big menus are going away. We’d rather focus on 13 menu items and do really well at those.”

Cushman stressed that all menu items are made fresh, down to the burger buns and wing sauces. He also hopes to add lunches a few times per week in the future, something that is not done in Davenport.

Fox Den Motel opened in July, bringing in bands from across the U.S. to play. Co-owner John McDermott said the addition of Kitchen Brigade within the bar’s space helps to bolster Main Street as a destination in Dubuque.

“It also gives some cross pollination,” he added. “You’re going to get people who may not necessarily know us here as a bar and music venue come and grow to love the music coming from all over the country in the lower level. The Kitchen Brigade is going to get music-goers who may not necessarily have found the food. It further strengthens both businesses.”

Fox Den Motel opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Kitchen Brigade opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Manchester salon reopens with new owner, look

A Manchester salon has reopened with a new owner and new look.

EnVy Salon — located at 117 E. Main St., around the corner from Olive That Deli — reopened in February under a new owner, Stacie Hackbarth. The salon was previously called Studio 117 before Hackbarth took it over.

“I actually worked at the original salon for 19 years,” Hackbarth said. “The gal who I was renting from was going to end things. I just really like the location, and the owner of the building wanted to sell it, so I proposed the opportunity to buy it.”

Hackbarth bought the building in January and closed the salon for just over three weeks to remodel the space. Hackbarth said the building had been around since about 1900, and she exposed the original ceiling beams and brick walls.

Hackbarth is one of three stylists working in the salon. She also purchased all new equipment and lighting, the latter of which she said has attracted people to wander in and see the remodel.

“We’ve had lots of new clients and new traffic coming in,” she said.

EnVy Salon can be reached at 563-927-1468, and the salon can also be found on Facebook.

Dubuque prepared meals business operating out of new space

A Dubuque-based business providing fresh prepared meals is now operating out of a new location.

City Girl Farming now is preparing meals at 2900 Central Ave., in the new Convivium Urban Farmstead community kitchen. City Girl Farming rents out the kitchen to prepare its meals each week, which then can be delivered or picked up at 2900 Central Ave. on Wednesdays.

“I feel so grateful and lucky,” owner Justyna Miranda said. “A year ago, I didn’t know if this business was going to be viable. But we continue to grow, and we can see it seems to be a need and see support from the community.”

Miranda started City Girl Farming in 2017 after moving to Dubuque from Chicago. A native of Poland, Miranda grew up with an abundance of fresh food out of her grandmother’s garden.

“I grew up with this sacred idea of what food was,” Miranda said. “When I moved to the U.S., the food system was not necessarily my concept of what food was, and my health suffered as a result.”

Miranda then began farming on a plot on Sinsinawa (Wis.) Mound’s collaborative farm, providing produce to local establishments.

Since then, Miranda has been able to grow her business to provide prepared meals with not only her produce, but also produce and meat supplied by local farmers. A team of five others help her prepare around 400 meals per week.

“We really want to reduce the distance between growers and eaters,” she said. “If I can share food from local farmers and provide some income to them by buying their product, that makes my day.”

Miranda rents the Convivium community kitchen to prepare the meals. After a week’s orders are in on Saturdays, she and her team prep on Mondays and cook all day Tuesdays, sometimes staying until 2 a.m. The menu changes each week for customers.

“I have a great team,” Miranda said. “Reconnecting food and people is our mission statement, and we are all driven by the same values.”

More information on City Girl Farming can be found online at citygirlfarming-dbq.com.