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Me & Billy, a Davenport bar near the collapse, is expected to open Thursday

Me & Billy is nearly ready to welcome patrons back in, hoping everything will go smoothly until the end of the week.
Credit: WQAD

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Me & Billy, a bar and grill down the block from the building that collapsed in Davenport, announced that it plans on reopening this Thursday.

City officials closed the building off as The Davenport was evacuated and demolished, leaving Me & Billy without access for several weeks. 

The bar's Facebook page made a post Monday said they were getting close to reopening, but had encountered another hurdle. If things go smoothly, their doors will be open by the end of the week. 

Last week, the bar's page posted Wednesday that the city allowed staff to reenter, putting the "wheels of reopening" into motion.

Me & Billy Owner Bill Collins told News 8 two weeks ago that the whole event was unfortunate. 

"We feel bad for everyone that was involved in the incident," Collins said. "It's just frustrating when you're used to opening your business every day and right now we can't do anything." 

You know when you’re doing everything you can to reopen your business, and you’re getting close, but then you find out...

Posted by Me & Billy on Monday, June 19, 2023

Being unable to be in business is costing Collins money. Collins said, "There's zero business right now and we are probably looking at a substantial financial loss." 

The city said Me & Billy is located in the fall zone from the building, causing a delay in its reopening. 

"We would love to be right back in business, but we understand the situation that the city is facing," Collins said. "They have been communicating with us on when we can open back up and we hope that will be soon."

Watch more coverage of the collapse on News 8's YouTube channel

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