After over 50 years in business, an Iowa City staple known for its live music and craft beer has closed its doors.
Over the years, a number of bars, restaurants, and social establishments have closed down, erasing small parts of Iowa City. These places, such as The Mill, which closed in 2022, are fondly remembered by current and former Iowa City residents.
Sanctuary Pub, which had been open for business since 1972, closed permanently at the end of December. It is now up for lease, with signs adorning its windows advertising the building’s owner, Barkalow and Associates Realtors.
Barkalow and Associates Realtors is helmed by Tracy Barkalow, a longtime Iowa City landlord and property manager.
Barkalow said the Sanctuary Pub space, located at 405 S Gilbert St., is already attracting several potential tenants. Prospects for the space include renewing the Sanctuary Pub name to continue operating it as such or opening a new concept entirely, he said.
Barkalow said Sanctuary Pub went out of business because of a “lack of customer and community support.” The Sanctuary’s owner at the time of closure in December did not provide comment.
The Sanctuary saw numerous changes in ownership over the last decade. The original owners managed it before Daryl Woodson, who came into part-ownership two years later.
In 2017, Dave Stein and Aaron Jennings of Micky’s Irish Pub on Dubuque Street took ownership until 2019. Businesspeople have continued to invest time and money into the space since, but the Sanctuary would only endure another five years.
Iowa City is nothing if not a strong anchor for culture. The University of Iowa creates a unique cycle that, if nothing else, places a time limit on some businesses. One generation of students could patron one establishment, while the next may favor another. New businesses do not always succeed, an idea that shows how special the Sanctuary was to stay for 52 years.

For many, especially those long-graduated, the restaurants, bars, and nightlife of Iowa City are the focal point of collective memories. Students from decades ago can recall studying inside the Sanctuary, enjoying a variety of live music and events beneath its dark brown facade.
The Sanctuary was especially commemorated for its over 100 beer offerings, many of them being craft beers that are hard to come by elsewhere in Iowa City or Iowa in general.
For former Iowa City resident and UI student Ryan Kaminky, the beer selection was what set the Sanctuary apart from other bars in Iowa City. Like others, Kaminky said the Sanctuary also had the distinct ability to set a mood.
“The vibe was excellent,” Kaminky said.
Kaminky worked at the Sanctuary for a brief period during the eight years he was in Iowa City. He said aspects of the Sanctuary were distinctive, such as its “prickly” bar staff.
“They could always offer a suggestion or talk shop, and they were kind in the sense that they were willing to help you out,” he said.
Businesses are always evolving, especially in a place as culturally revolving as Iowa City. The Mill was a community-loved restaurant on Burlington Street. Now, it’s a parking lot. JiangHu Asian Street Food was a spot on Gilbert Street, the walls and windows now occupied by a shop. The Red Avocado is now a mixed-use apartment complex.
These are the places that residents lament no longer exist. Cultural spots with unique offerings and distinct memories that are exchanged for, as Kaminky said, another sports bar that likely cannot endure more than the four years it takes for Iowa City student culture to turn over.

Kaminky is 35 now and resides in Chicago. His time in Iowa City has passed, and he makes a living in a much larger, much busier environment. There is certainly no shortage of culture in one of America’s most populous cities — where else can you go and see a giant bean?
But grandeur is not always most important. The scope of a people, or a place, can also be soundly described by the content within instead of outward appearance.
Kaminky made an apt comparison between his faraway perspective of a shifting business environment and the Ship of Theseus — a philosophical thought experiment dating back to ancient Greece. It is a paradox wherein a rotting wooden ship is slowly repaired board by board.
By the end, the ship is the same, but it has been completely refurbished with new boards and structure. The paradox begs the question: Is it still the Ship of Theseus? Or is it something else entirely? Is the Ship of Theseus the boards, the mast, hull, and contents within? Is it instead its purpose for existing, the places it has been to, and the memories individuals have with it?
What is Iowa City? Iowa City is comprised of many factors that distinguish it, and objectively, there is no one thing more attributable to culture than the next. But wistful are those who see the places that defined their time in Iowa City slowly fade.
The comparison to how people, long gone from Iowa City, slowly lose what ties them to the community reflects the deeper business environment, Kaminky believes.
“It’s so nice going back to a place that was there when you were young, it makes you feel like you’re still part of the city,” he said. “Every time I go back, something has closed.”
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There is no shortage of existing business culture in Iowa City, however. Downtown is filled with small businesses that work together to thrive. Rather, a lingering fear is the knowledge that nothing truly lasts forever. A business like the Sanctuary can create a gathering place for people for over 50 years, but eventually even it, too, could not last.
Kaminky said the Sanctuary was a “third place” for him and others. With each board replaced on the ship, the tendency to lose these third places is tested.

Amy Colbert, UI faculty director of social impact community and professor of management and entrepreneurship, defined a third place as a social space outside of home and work where a person can meet new people and create a social life. These spaces include coffee shops, libraries, and parks, to name a few.
Third places are beneficial to the community as a whole, she said, as they help increase the connection between the community and individuals.
“When we feel like we belong, we develop a sense of psychological ownership for our communities,” Colbert said. “People feel like they’re part of the community in a way where they’ll take care of it.”
She said a community with too few environments that qualify as third places can see increases in loneliness, stress, and reduced connectedness between people.
“Third places allow us to be human,” she said. “Life unfolds in spaces where we are allowed to be ourselves and where we can see our connections to the rest of humanity. A community without enough third places risks becoming a place where we forget our connectedness and become fearful and self-centered.”
She said Iowa City reinvents itself often due to college turnover, hindering people’s ability to find a third place. Establishments close down, and finding a new place that fits the description and then becoming comfortable there can take time.
Colbert echoed Kaminky’s sentiment that alumni can lose their connection to Iowa City when the places from their memories close down. The Sanctuary is no different and represents a tremendous loss in the eyes of longtime patrons and current residents.
“I watch alumni come back all the time, and they want to go to those places that meant so much to them while they were in college,” she said. “It does feel like a different place when you come back.”
To Kaminky, the Sanctuary was a great tribute to his time in Iowa City; a great variety of craft beer coupled with art and events, all ahead of the backdrop of a unique mood and design.
“It was one of the last remnants of Iowa City,” he said. “Now it’s not there anymore.”