Big Swing Swings Into Downtown Rock Island Next Friday!
The scotch egg is staying.
So is the meatloaf.
So is the catfish, and many other menu items, almost all of the décor and a good portion of the staff, when The Big Swing opens next Friday in the former Blue Cat Brew Pub.
The spot will have a limited menu opening Friday and Saturday, March 15-16, then will be closed Sunday and Monday, before having its full opening and menu March 19.
“We’re excited and we’re looking forward to opening and welcoming the community,” said John Timmer, a co-owner of the Swing, as well as Milan’s Backyard Bowl and Abides Bar and Grill, with Shane Scott and Jon McAtee. “We’ll have some new things, some new items and twists, but it’s still going to have the same feel as the old Blue Cat, it’s still going to have a lot of the familiar touches and things that people loved.
“Things have been going along well, it’s taken longer than we thought, and that we wanted, but we wanted to get it right,” Timmer said. “We won’t be brewing our own beer there quite yet, but we’re going to feature some great local and regional stuff at the beginning.
“The menu is new but it’s got a lot of the old favorites on it, it’s a lot of comfort food, a lot of brew-infused dishes,” Timmer said. “The scotch egg is staying, the brewers meatloaf, the great BLT, tenderloins, an excellent array of soups, some nice fish dishes with catfish and what not. It’ll have a good mix.”
There will be some food items coming over from the menu of the Abides Bar and Grill, Timmer added, which is a very good thing, if you’ve ever had the food out there. It’s fantastic.
“Yeah, some of the burgers and sandwich items from the Abides will be on the menu too,” he said. “We’ve got some of the same staff working at both spots with that, so there will be some crossover.”
The hours of the Big Swing will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays and Mondays will be closed, for now, although Timmer said they’re open to expanding the hours if the demand is there. He also added that the interior is going to be very familiar.
“The décor will still have the Blue Cat front tile and exterior when you walk in, it’s a little different, but the layout is basically the same, it’s just freshened up a bit,” Timmer said. “It’s still the same old comfortable feel, that comfy cozy feeling like home.”
The new spot adds about two dozen full- and part-time jobs to the downtown Rock Island area, and will include a number of the old staff from Blue Cat. “You’ll see some familiar faces,” Timmer said.
He’s sure to see a lot of familiar faces walking in the doors, and he definitely welcomes them.
“We think people are really going to like it, Blue Cat fans and new people coming in,” Timmer said. “Everyone in downtown Rock Island has been great to us, and we’re looking forward to working together with the other business owners down there to do some great things. We’re very much looking forward to spring and summer.”
For more sneak previews of The Big Swing, prior to its opening and on its opening weekend, keep checking out your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, www.quadcities.com!
