City Ice Arts will not be reopening after all

Opened in 2011 in a rehabbed building at 21st Street and Campbell, City Ice Arts was an art-and-commerce mishmash that housed a gallery, artist spaces, and various small businesses — Howard’s Organic Market, La Cucaracha Press, a wedding chapel called the Vow Exchange and, of course, Burge Ice — during its four-year run. 

That came to an end last fall, when City Ice Arts shuttered to make way for an expansion of the adjacent Truman Medical Center. 

At the time, owner Dave Dumay said he planned to move City Ice Arts somewhere in the West Bottoms. Ten months later, that plan has stalled. There’s a good reason for that: Dumay recently moved to Oklahoma City. 

“City Ice is probably no more in KC,” Dumay tells The Pitch. “I seriously tried to do a deal with a property owner down there [in the Bottoms], but they backed out at the last minute.”

That property was near 13th Street and Hickory, Dumay says. “They were having family issues over the use of the building, but it was such a plus for both sides, I frankly could not believe they said no at the last minute.”

Dumay says he’s working on other projects in OKC and “would like to do something similar [to City Ice Arts] with the right partnership.”

Why the move to Oklahoma City?

“My new love is here, Cyndy Hendrick Hoenig!”

Well — can’t fault a man for following his heart.