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Community<br />
Entertainment<br />
Nature<br />
Appreciation<br />
Indulge<br />
Once things really got moving, The Marquee was<br />
scrambling to keep up with demand for their premade<br />
MitchSlap Bloody Mary kits. “It would usually range<br />
between 75-100 kits. Those were in addition to the other<br />
drinks going out as well as cocktails to-go,” he says.<br />
“We were seeing people come in that had never been<br />
to the Marquee before, and saw our giant bloody mary<br />
with all this food on it on our Facebook page and just<br />
wanted to give it a shot. So it was really cool”, Martin says.<br />
His namesake bloody mary mix line now includes Regular,<br />
Spicy, Spicy Pickle, and Jalapeno Bacon flavors, all bottled<br />
and wax-sealed by hand at The Marquee.<br />
Recently, with the success of to-go items including canned<br />
cocktails, he’s added MitchSlap Marinara and MitchSlap<br />
Chili Starter mixes. ”All you have to do is brown some<br />
hamburger and put some beans in it and you’ve got a pot<br />
of chili. And our Marinara sauce, which is a recipe that I<br />
already like to make for my family, now includes a touch of<br />
MitchSlap,” he says.<br />
“My wife hates it because I’m experimenting all of the<br />
time. She’s like, can we please not have something tomato<br />
based today?” he says with a laugh.<br />
“At this point, I’m most interested in better understanding<br />
how I can get my “go-to” Bulleit Rye Old Fashioned “togo”.”<br />
“We make them all doubles,” Martin says, “because it’s<br />
a larger can, so it’s essentially two drinks. We’ll make the<br />
drink in the shaker like normal, we pour it into a can, seal<br />
it with our crowler machine, slap a label on it, you take<br />
it home and pour it over ice, and you’ve got your old<br />
fashioned.” Sounds pretty slick to me. But what if cocktails<br />
to-go and gargantuan Bloody Mary’s are not your thing?<br />
“We’re doing Sunday Fun-day and I was starting to get<br />
people ordering all of the food on the Bloody Mary with<br />
whatever brunch drink they really wanted. So [I thought]<br />
let’s do a Mimosa with a ton of breakfast food on it. Instead<br />
of a slider, a breakfast sandwich and a french toast stick.<br />
It’s a quick brunch and a drink in one. We call it Marquee<br />
Mark and the Funky Brunch,” Martin says with a laugh.<br />
When asked about other innovations and collaborations<br />
that have been helping to drive revenue during the<br />
shutdown, Martin is quick to bring up his Coffee &<br />
Cocktails collab with Alex Paulsen, owner of Nightingale<br />
Coffee. “We do this the last Sunday of every month. Alex<br />
has been really open to ideas and he’s very innovative.<br />
Every month it gets better and better,” he says.<br />
Good to know!<br />
IOWA TO-GO COCKTAIL RULES:<br />
The rules prohibit the sale of mixed drinks or<br />
cocktails to-go in paper or Styrofoam cups, or<br />
plastic cups that are intended for one-time use.<br />
Lids with straw holes or sipping holes are also<br />
prohibited.<br />
Containers of mixed drinks or cocktails to-go also<br />
must bear a seal that makes it apparent when that<br />
seal has been tampered with. The types of sealing<br />
methods allowed under the rules are heat shrink<br />
wrap bands around the cap or lid, twist-top caps<br />
that break apart when the container is opened, or<br />
vacuum or heat-sealed pouches containing the<br />
mixed drink or cocktail.<br />
As a sample of what types of drinks to expect, Martin offers<br />
up the Cold Fashioned as a favorite: a coffee-based take on<br />
an Old Fashioned that includes Cold Brew Coffee, Bulleit<br />
Bourbon, Bitters, and Simple Syrup, and is available to go<br />
along with the rest of the specialty menu.<br />
When asked to find a few positives to take away from this<br />
challenging time, Martin is quick to mention community<br />
support as first on his list.<br />
“Community support has been the #1 positive. Sioux City,<br />
per capita, the support they have for local business is<br />
unmatched in my opinion. I think they’ve really shown that<br />
they can support and help small businesses survive during<br />
this time. We’re very fortunate,” he says.<br />
And what is Martin most looking forward to in the coming<br />
year?<br />
“We will continue to do cocktails to-go. As the vaccines start<br />
rolling out and people are feeling better about things we’ll<br />
bring back more live music,” he says.<br />
“I’m just excited to hit the ground runnin and make it happen<br />
this year,” Martin says as I begin to pack up my things. “I’d<br />
rather be having shows with people hanging out, but we’ve<br />
proven that we will make it happen either way.”<br />
Adrian Kolbo is the Host of the Web-series Sioux City Foodie<br />
and Local F&B Fanatic.<br />
Photo Credit left to right, Adrian Kolbo, The Marquee and<br />
Britton Hacke Photography.
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