After 18 years in The District of Rock Island, Kyle Peters recently closed his original Daiquiri Factory due to low foot traffic in The District and lack of a city action plan over the past two years.
“While there is some movement/discussion toward one, it doesn’t appear implementation is likely anytime soon,” Peters said by e-mail Tuesday, noting his much larger new Daiquiri Factory in downtown Davenport is very successful.
“During this time, our team was searching for a second location where we could purchase the property, add a kitchen, and more square footage for year-round promotions,” he said. The new location at 303 W. 3rd St., Davenport, met all those criteria.
The new 5,000-square-foot Daiquiri Factory seats 400 and opened in May. Peters said his original plan was to have two locations, including the first Daq Fac at 1809 2nd Ave., Rock Island (which was 2,000 square feet and didn’t offer food. “Unfortunately, minimal foot traffic and the City of Rock Island trying to transition into a new model to re-build the downtown takes time,” Peters said Tuesday.
“Small business owners do not have time as in ‘years’ for a plan to come to fruition!” he said by email. Peters has served on multiple city and nonprofit boards over the past 18 years, to be involved with the community, and keep efforts moving forward. “As the owner/operator of Daiquiri Factory I hope our involvement, programing, and investment over the past 18 years may better serve and grow the business community in Downtown Rock Island,” he said.
The new Daq Fac is going great in downtown Davenport, Peters said, noting adding food and more square footage to grow was the right move.
“Our food is hand-crafted just like our daiquiris, in-house,” he said. “We smoke chicken, pork, & wings every day on site. All of our sauces are made in house as well! Our team is ready to program special events and year-round promotions! We are looking forward to serving the Quad Cities killer food and world-famous Daiquiris for years to come!”
The Rock Island staff transitioned into the new location as well, Peters said.
Jack Cullen, downtown Rock Island director for the Quad Cities Chamber, said of the move: “It’s obviously sad to see Kyle Peters and Daiquiri Factory leave Downtown Rock Island, but we’re also happy for him that he found a new location in nearby in Downtown Davenport to expand his business and its offerings.
“Kyle and his team deserve a lot of credit for all the work they did over the years to make Daiquiri Factory and Downtown Rock Island a destination,” Cullen said. “They created a unique business, added a great outdoor gathering space to the property and helped the city program numerous large festivals.
“Despite this loss, we believe Downtown Rock Island still has a bright future ahead in terms of business growth,” he said. “Between the major improvements planned for the core of the business district; the work we’re doing to set up an SSA and public-private place management organization to better maintain, program and promote the downtown area; and the millions of dollars in private investments being made to develop the new Federal Building and YWCA, among other projects, Downtown Rock Island is on the cusp of a new era of revitalization.”
Several downtown property owners have submitted a plan to the City Council to establish a Special Service Area (SSA) in partnership with a new Quad Cities Chamber place management organization.
The action would levy an additional fee on property owners, to fund and govern enhanced services, activities and improvements in partnership with the city, according to a chamber release. Proposed enhanced services downtown include beautification and maintenance; boots-on-the-ground hospitality and troubleshooting; façade and interior improvement grants; business attraction and retention; marketing and advertising; among others.
As of two weeks ago, the proposed SSA was endorsed by the owners of 120 parcels of land, representing about one-third of the total value of the proposed downtown area – roughly between 1st and 7th Avenues and 13th and 28th Streets.