Lang
4/16/24
A downtown Iowa City venue is undergoing another change.
Joystick Comedy Arcade on South Linn Street…formerly known as The Yacht Club… is changing its name to “The Alley Cat”. Alley Cat representatives told KCJJ they switched from a live music club to the arcade/comedy club model during COVID because large crowds in small spaces were no longer an option. Two new arcades have opened in the downtown area since the end of the pandemic, leading the bar’s owners to seek input on a new direction. The response was reportedly overwhelmingly in favor of a live entertainment venue that could host a wide variety of events, including live music, comedy, spoken word and more.
Much like the Yacht Club name had been revived from a previous incarnation of the location from the 1980’s and 90’s, the owners of Joystick decided to revive the name “Alley Cat”, which had been the name of the bar in the current Studio 13 space in the same building in the 1990’s.
Other changes include re-opening the kitchen, which will be open until 2 a.m. six days a week. There will still be video games, but a slightly scaled-back selection.
The transition to the new name and motif is expected to be completed by May 3rd. For more details, go to alleycatic.com or the Alley Cat Facebook page.