Cedar Rapids Bar Changes Hours Due to Bad Behavior Downtown

A Downtown Cedar Rapids bar has announced a change to their Saturday hours because of issues in the area.

Last night (May 22nd), Pub 217 revealed on Facebook that they will not be staying open until 2 a.m. on Saturday nights anymore. The bar, located at 217 3rd St SE, announced that they will now close at 11 p.m. on Saturdays, with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m. The new hours will go into effect this Saturday, May 25th.

The reason behind the early Saturday closure is because of safety concerns for Pub 217's staff and customers. The post reads:

"Due to a few bad actors that have been littering, loitering, and fighting downtown, late at night, on Saturday nights, we have made this difficult decision. We will continue to monitor the situation downtown, and we will adjust our hours accordingly."

Pub 217 is a popular bar to stop for a late night bite to eat, as the kitchen is typically open until 1 a.m. The bar's post apologized to customers for the inconvenience:

We know many people relied on the Pub kitchen being open until 1:00 am on Saturdays and to you we are sorry."

Another Downtown Cedar Rapids establishment recently posted about similar issues that they have been facing. Cale Henderson, a managing partner at Cliff's Dive Bar on 2nd Ave, made a Facebook post back in April that you can check out below:

As of right now, the changes at Pub 217 only apply to Saturdays, meaning that the hours for Fridays are not impacted. For the latest updates from the bar and restaurant, you can follow the official Facebook page HERE.