Oct. 21, 2020

Icon Lounge has reinvented itself as a gastropub, putting a greater emphasis on food and offering cocktails and other alcohol to go.

The new name for the restaurant is DA•DA Gastropub, a nod to the Dada movement that came out of World War I, starting with art and expanding to music and more, said Stacy Newcomb of Parker’s Bistro, whose family has been part of the ownership group of the downtown business that includes Icon Event Hall since it opened in 2012.

“It’s an interesting movement that was a challenge to conventional thinking. It did apply to a lot of things, and it still does, even more so today.” The family hopes to foster that open-minded approach to life in the new gastropub, which is filled with local artwork.

Icon Lounge, 402 N. Main Ave., had been closed since spring because of the pandemic, and that “allowed us to think it through and restart the clock,” Newcomb said.

To start, DA•DA will be open Tuesday through Saturday nights.

“It’s becoming a very casual, different vibe than Parker’s,” she said. “It’s a place where you can stop in more often for drinks, appetizers and food.”

The menu, which is being tweaked this week during a soft opening, is not extensive, but the variety spans Asian, Mexican and American cuisines and includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

“We’re trying to have a little of everything for people,” Newcomb said.

There are kimchi pancakes, ramen, sushi-rice bowls, tostadas, burritos, chislic and a spicy fried chicken sandwich. Prices range from $7 for the vegan sesame salad to $17 for the pork chashu ramen. For dessert, diners can choose from offerings made by Parker’s pastry chef: a tres leches cake or apple tart. There’s also hot chocolate with marshmallow, chile and cinnamon.

“We have a lot of nice cocktails,” Newcomb said. “It’s an interesting menu. The bartenders have done a lot of it in-house. And we’re offering a lot of them to go. You can get premade cocktails here to go and a full line of alcohol, beer and wine.”

Icon Lounge shut down in the spring when the pandemic hit, but DA•DA is set up so it can continue to operate if the coronavirus gets worse than it already is, Newcomb said. “We can send people home with good food and drink.”

For the holidays, DA•DA will create party packages with food and drink that customers can enjoy at home.

“It’s really important to us to do our part to keep people as safe as we can,” Newcomb said. Staff members wear masks, and customers are required to when they’re “up and moving around.” Masks are available at the door for those without one.

“All tables are spread out at least 6 feet, and more like 10 or 12 feet,” she said. “We can have a lot of space between people.”

There’s room for about 45 diners at the tables and a dozen or more around the large, four-sided bar. There’s a lounge-type area with comfortable seating too.

Diners will be encouraged to make reservations. Hours are 4 p.m. to midnight, with the kitchen open until 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Icon Lounge had offered frequent concerts, and DA•DA will offer entertainment, Newcomb said, but more so once the pandemic eases.

With all the changes, Newcomb wants to assure brides that Icon Event Hall is still the same. “The Event Hall will continue to be as it always has.”

Parker’s Bistro, which has been closed since March 26, will reopen after DA•DA has been going for a few weeks, Newcomb said. It’s an intimate, “more date night” type of space, and it wasn’t financially feasible to keep it open, she said.

When it reopens, the restaurant on Main Avenue between 10th and 11th streets will be at half-capacity. Reservations will be encouraged, and it will have the same mask policy as DA•DA.

“The big change is the mask policy. That’s been the big game-changer, for me at least. It adds another level of safety. You can push tables apart, and it’s not enough.”