New bar and grill to open in Charles City

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Charles City residents will soon have a new place to enjoy a drink and a bite to eat when Salinas’ opens up for business.

Salinas’ is the namesake of owner Santos Salinas, a Charles City native who has dreamed about running his own eatery since his days as a high schooler working at the local McDonalds and Dairy Queen. Salinas has been working in-and-out of the food business for most of his life, from running kitchens in Mason City and Clear Lake to studying under a master chef during his time out-of-state in Oregon.

It has long been his dream to operate a place of his own and now he’s closer than ever.

“It’s been in the making for 20 years,” said Salinas. “We’ve always wanted to do this and we’re from this town so we thought we’d bring something back to Charles City.”

Revitalizing a building in the neighborhood where he grew up, Salinas is setting up in the former Casey’s building on Gilbert Street on the west side of Charles City, giving his old neighborhood another option for going out to eat without having to cross the river.

“This whole thing has just been a dream to do,” said Salinas. “I’ve wanted this place for a while.”

Over the last several months Salinas and his family have been working to renovate the former gas station and turn it into a bar and grill. The interior has been redone, the building has been rewired, the TVs are up, the internet is in, and the bar is installed.

“It does not look like a gas station anymore,” said Salinas.

Salinas aims to create a place for casual dining, offering up a simple menu of fresh sandwiches, pastas, and dips. He said he’s excited to make use of the kitchen’s breading station, where they will pound out and hand-bread their own tenderloins.

“That’s a totally different taste,” said Salinas.

One thing that will make the restaurant unique in town will be its hours. Salinas plans to keep his doors open until as late as 2 a.m., offering second and third shift workers, or just regular night owls, in Charles City a place to get a hot meal late at night.

Once he gets rolling, he plans on introducing special activities like trivia nights or outdoor events during the summer.

Before any of that though, Salinas’ still has some work to be done before it can start serving food. The opening date will largely depend on the schedule of state inspectors.

“It really comes down to the state inspector coming in and saying you’re good to go,” said Salinas. “We’re trying to open as soon as possible.”

While the kitchen still has some time left before it’s ready to prepare food, Salinas hopes to have the bar portion of his restaurant ready for the public with a soft opening sometime next week.

“That way it’s not too packed in here and we’re able to fix things as stuff occurs,” said Salinas.

Salinas says that the Charles City community has been exceptionally easy to work with as he prepares his new business, from local contractors getting the building ready to the city helping him navigate the permit and waiver process.

“We’re really appreciative of it,” said Salinas. “Charles City does a good job in helping a new business come to down and that’s how I think all communities should be.