DAVENPORT, IOWA (December 15, 2023) — This weekend, Friday through Sunday, December 15-17, businesses in downtown Davenport’s Motor Row historic district are joining forces for the “Motor Row-Ho-Ho” holiday promotion, offering special deals on shopping, food, drinks, and more.
Stretching from River Drive to Third Street and east of Brady in downtown Davenport, Motor Row is a nationally-registered historic district brimming with local shops, restaurants, breweries, bars, and entertainment options, including the recently-opened Last Picture House movie theater. Last summer, a group of Motor Row business-owners and residents worked together to develop a brand to promote this booming corner of the Quad Cities. Motor Row-Ho-Ho is the collective’s first group initiative.
“Our goal is to establish Motor Row as a unique district in the Quad Cities, to get people referring to it by name, and to bring more support to locally-owned, brick-and-mortar businesses,” said Annie Stopulos, owner of men’s goods shop Theo and Co, located on Second Street in the Motor Row neighborhood. “Motor Row-Ho-Ho is our first district-wide promotion, and a lot of the businesses down here are doing some really cool things and offering great deals.”
Some of the Motor Row-Ho-Ho promotions include:
Barrel House Pub: $10 boneless wings, $2 pints of Island Time, $3 pints of Hippie Sour Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
DAM Tacos: Buy one get one half-off appetizers Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
The Drawing Room: Buy four cigars gets one free, and special five-pack bundles Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Front Street Pub and Eatery: Buy one get one meal with purchase of two drinks Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
The Half Nelson: Various $10 off promotions relating to gift-card purchases, donations benefiting St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and by showing a receipt from another Motor Row business tagged in their promotional post. See full details on their social-media accounts.
The Last Picture House: Found Footage Film Festival on Friday.
Major Art and Hobby: Twenty percent off white-tagged merchandise Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Ragged Records: Saturday — ten percent off all new and used LPs, live music in the store 6-8PM featuring Camp Regret and Watermelon.
Raccoon Motel: $2 off first drink with a receipt from another Motor Row business, $2 off Motor Row-produced drinks (Front Street beers, Stompbox beers, Mississippi River Distilling Co cocktails) Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Theo and Co: Buy a $150-plus gift card and get an additional $20 gift card, twenty percent off all denim, several brand-specific specials Friday, Saturday, Sunday; beer-tasting with Potosi Brewing Saturday afternoon.
Trash Can Annie’s: Saturday — thirty percent off shoe-punched tags on Saturday.
For more Motor Row-Ho-Ho specials search #motorrowqc on social media.
Motor Row History
After a moral crusade wiped the vice out of the infamous Bucktown district in the late nineteen-aughts, the local arm of America’s fledgling automotive industry saw opportunity in the gutted former speakeasies of downtown Davenport. Car dealerships, repair shops, and parts suppliers bloomed in a section of town south of Fourth Street and east of Brady: Motor Row. The construction of Interstate 80 in the 1960s drove the auto shops and dealers uptown, leaving the district open for redefinition once more. Now, more than fifty years later, Motor Row is a nationally-registered historic district brimming with cool local businesses — you can eat, drink, shop, catch a movie, and discover your new favorite band performing live on-stage, all in one day.
