By Ryan Holmstedt//Greater Iowa City, Inc — For decades, customers have flocked to J+A Tap in North Liberty. Owner Amanda Lynn-Hruby took over the neighborhood bar in 2008 and has built a loyal customer base. Many of her customers have become trusted friends and asked for outdoor seating at J+A Tap so the establishment could reach its full potential.
“We had such a huge open space that we had done nothing with,” Lynn-Hruby said. “We originally had an old air conditioner up here, and when we tore that down, it just left such an eyesore.”
This summer, J+A Tap was able to expand their space and build a long-awaited outdoor patio with the help of the North Liberty Targeted Economic Development Grant Program. As part of the program, Greater IC facilitated the application and selection processes for businesses that met the criteria for the grant. The addition has provided the city with another excellent outdoor dining option near Cherry Street, which is part of Greater IC’s Strategic Investment District initiative.
Lynn-Hruby heard about the program from a friend who works in grant services and knew Lynn-Hruby’s dreams of a patio had been held up by cost.
“We had expanded so much, and wanted to do something that wasn’t going to hurt us [with cost] yet again for an expansion,” Lynn-Hruby said. “The grant was a perfect way to put a patio in, something that we wanted to do very badly, and all it took was money. The grant was an actual blessing for us and we wouldn’t have to spend a small fortune to apply.”
Growing With The Town
The North Liberty Grant Program awarded $85,000 across ten North Liberty businesses, up to $10,000 each. Five were new businesses. The other five, including J+A Tap and Midwest Audiology, had become established in the community and were looking for a way to continue growing with it.
Midwest Audiology has developed a strong customer base since Jill Beecher and Tanya Van Voorst opened the North Liberty clinic in 2024. The duo had worked together for years as audiologists at the University of Iowa, and Jill said they “decided to do something a little bit different” after they saw a need to help more people.
“We are a standalone clinic,” Beecher said. “Unlike a lot of other practices, we see pediatrics, we see adults. Hearing testing, hearing aids, cochlear implants, tinnitus.”
“We have grown in the community which is amazing, and we wanted to be able to offer more services,” Van Voorst said.
The grant paid for the buildout of an additional procedure room.
“Before, it was a storage room,” Van Voorst said. “Now we’re able to have a whole other procedure room because of the North Liberty grant.”
The new procedure room offers ear cleanings, a service patients were already calling about and unable to get as easily at Midwest Audiology before the grant.
“We get phone calls all the time from patients who get in immediately, where maybe it would take longer to get into another practice,” Van Voorst said. “They’re able to call, get in very quickly, and we were able to offer this space that we didn’t have before.”
A Corridor Worth Investing In
North Liberty has grown considerably over the last quarter century. In 2000, the city had about 5,000 residents according to the U.S. Census. Today, it’s home to more than 21,000.
Lynn-Hruby has watched much of that growth happen from behind the bar at J+A. She has lived in North Liberty for 30 years.
“As the town grows, so do you,” she said. “You have to make sure that owning a business, especially in an area where it grows so much, you’re growing as well as it is.”
J+A’s surrounding neighborhood near Cherry Street continues to grow with the town.
“This used to be the old side of town, and now it looks like it belongs in the center of town,” Lynn-Hruby said. “North Liberty has always been our home. To be able to own a business here and be part of the community, there’s nothing you can do wrong here.”
For Midwest Audiology, the location offers an additional incentive.
“It’s just a fantastic community, and it’s growing so fast,” Beecher said. “Being located between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, it’s just really good access for a lot of people to get to.”
Greater IC is excited to continue to highlight businesses that are succeeding with the help of the North Liberty Targeted Economic Development Grant program. To view all the videos and feature stories we’ve done so far, visit the links below.
Additional Feature Story
North Liberty Grant Program Spurs New Business for Royal Family Chiropractic, Gani Barbershop
Video Features
