The Iowa City City Council voted unanimously to deny renewal of The Union Bar & Grill’s liquor license and premises update, during an April 22 city council meeting.

The vote passed 6-0, with Councilor Laura Bergus recusing herself at the request of Iowa City property owner Tracy Barkalow, who also owns Fieldhouse Bar & Grill. 

Bergus, who previously worked as the legal representative of Barkalow’s realtor company, Barkalow & Associates Realtors, said during the meeting she disagreed with the alleged conflict of interest, but still chose to refrain from the discussion and vote.

The Union Bar & Grill first opened in 1993 and served as one of Iowa City’s most popular destinations for crowds and live music for 27 years. The bar closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. 

The Stuffed Olive and Double Tap (Tap Tap) took over the building, located on 121 E. College St., in 2022.

After a six-year absence, the bar reopened its doors to a new, two-floor layout on Feb. 20. The new location occupies the former Cactus 3 space on 118 S. Clinton St., just two doors down from Fieldhouse.

When The Union’s liquor license was approved on March 14, 2025, it was certified as an eating establishment. As an eating establishment, it is only permitted to serve alcohol between 11 a.m. and midnight. 

Despite this, The Union consistently operates until 2 a.m., qualifying it as a drinking establishment, Iowa City Police Department Lt. Rob Cash said during the meeting.

New drinking establishments, according to city code, cannot be located within 500 feet of another drinking establishment, a code which The Union violates due to its proximity to its neighbors, Giddy Up, and Fieldhouse. 

Before The Union reopened its doors in February, Barkalow submitted updated building plans to the city for a first-floor remodeling. By this point, The Union had already received its liquor license, meaning a premises update would need to be submitted to the Iowa Department of Revenue.

However, this update was never submitted, said Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Schwickerath, who prepared the resolution. This meant that when The Union opened for business, an alcohol license was submitted for the basement and top floor only.

Barkalow filed a premises update to change the premises covered by the liquor license, which was recommended for denial by the city.

RELATED: IC City Council votes against renewing Fieldhouse’s liquor license

Development Services Coordinator Danielle Sitzman said because the bar has not operated in accordance with the hours of operations stated in its license application, it would meet the zoning definition of a drinking establishment. 

Fieldhouse faced a similar dispute in the past few months, when the city council suspended its liquor license during a meeting on Jan. 20. However, Barkalow appealed the denial to the Iowa Department of Revenue, allowing the bar to continue operating indefinitely until the appeal process concludes. 

The councilors’ decision was based on Fieldhouse’s contested status as an eating establishment, despite serving alcohol up until 2 a.m., emulating The Union’s situation.

During the council meeting, the attorney representing Barkalow, Richard Davidson, said voting to disapprove the license was premature, as the result will depend on whether state code supersedes local ordinances, which is to be decided in the Fieldhouse case. 

“Until it is decided, I don’t know why we’re here,” Davidson said. “Apparently, the staff and councilors are mad at Mr. Barkalow and his business partner, but that is not a good reason. We have a disagreement about what the ordinance says in comparison to what state law allows. The court will decide that issue.”

Davidson and Barkalow said they felt Barkalow was being targeted by city officials, with the issue of the premises update being used as a tactic to do so. Barkalow said the premises update and the liquor license renewal should be separated into different resolutions.

“I mean, staff is making this so confusing and doing everything they can to hurt, harm, or financially harm our business, it’s not even funny, and does not follow the state law,” Barkalow said. “But it is two separate matters. I would suggest that council separate it to a premise permit update and approve that tonight.”

Barkalow said they attempted to add the premise update to previous council meetings, but were unable to.

“We tried to get this on the March 10 meeting last month. The city staff refused to put it on there for the premise update,” Barkalow said. “We tried to get it on the April 7 agenda. The city staff refused to put it on the agenda. And then tonight, they lump them together to confuse you.”

Barkalow also said he felt his businesses were being treated unfairly compared to other establishments that may violate city ordinances. He pointed to Iowa City ReUnion Brewery and the Vue Rooftop as being within 500 feet of other drinking establishments, and to Double Tap as an eating establishment that occasionally stays open until 2 a.m.

Schwickerath said the recommendation to disapprove both the premise update and the liquor license renewal is focused on the 500-foot ordinance. She said the premise update not being added to previous meetings was because it was in local review status.

Schwickerath also clarified the exemptions for the businesses that Barkalow cited. She said that exemptions can include buildings that receive historical designation, bars that act as accessories to other establishments like hotels, and infrequent opportunities for eating establishments to open past midnight, such as on New Year’s Eve.

Councilor Shawn Harmsen emphasized the importance of the 500-foot ordinance to safety in the downtown area when considering the resolution.

“The 500-foot setback is one of a raft of laws, ordinances, and policies the city has to look after the health and safety and well-being of people, especially in the downtown, and this clearly violates that,” Harmsen said. “This is fairly clear-cut, and so I will be voting for this resolution.”

Councilor Josh Moe said the information that stuck out to him was the statement on the liquor license application.

“The verified statement says ‘I understand this will be used by the city to determine whether my business is an eating establishment or drinking establishment,’” Moe said. “It says, ‘I’m only open until midnight,’ and that’s never been what’s happened, so it’s been a drinking establishment since the beginning.”

Similar to Fieldhouse, Barkalow said he will legally challenge the council’s decision to deny the license renewal.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on at City Hall that I’d be questioning if I were you guys, because we sure are going to, and we’re going to find out what’s going on through the courts,” Barkalow said.