Tiphanie Cannon’s new location in downtown Davenport has been oh so sweet.
Formerly Oh So Sweet, which moved to a much larger space at 210 E. 2nd St., Davenport, this past March, the restaurant/bakery/bar has expanded since then and recently rebranded as Tiphanie’s. Owner Tiphanie Cannon, employees and supporters held a ribbon cutting with the Quad Cities Chamber Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m so excited that we’re here to celebrate Tiphanie and her business,” Brian Irby of the Chamber said. “The expansion and growth has been great in downtown Davenport.”
“We love that you’re growing your business in downtown Davenport,” he said.
Cannon first opened the bakery Oh So Sweet by Tiphanie on Main Street (near Me & Billy and 3rd Street) about nine years ago. After two years of seeking financing, design and renovation work at the new space, Cannon re-opened this past March, and expanded her menu in mid-June.
“It was about the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said Tuesday. “There was a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes. But it was all worth it. I’m happy to be here. I love 2nd Street and I freaking love downtown. There’s no place else I’d rather be. I’m excited to be here.”
Her business expanded to over 3,000 square feet in the new location, and the staff grew from six at the old location to 25 full- and part-time employees. The expansion allows her to have a bar and offer breakfast, lunch and dinner service.
The award-winning chef, Aaron McMahon (formerly of Davenport Country Club) asked to come on in June and dinner is served from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesdays and 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Tiphanie’s opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and closes at 3 p.m. Sundays.
The large party room allows people to rent it, and they have an outdoor patio next to the RiverCenter. She’s on the ground floor of the five-story Urbane 210 apartment building (that opened in fall 2020), which also hosts the Raygun store on the first floor.
2nd Street is “a gem”
“For me, wanting to move here was to be on the back of the RiverCenter,” Cannon said. “The other businesses on 2nd Street, I feel like 2nd Street is a gem. And the patio was a real draw for me, too.”
During COVID, she found what customers wanted were more the sandwiches versus baked goods. Cannon decided to follow what people wanted, and grew the menu from there.
“We had 10 different sandwiches on our menu,” she said of Oh So Sweet, which also featured soups. Tiphanie’s bakes three kinds of bread daily and sells hot and cold sandwiches (lunch time is their busiest time of day by far); breakfast sandwiches, breakfast bowls, salads, and dinner entrees.
“It’s easier to pay rent, too, on a $12 sandwich versus a $2 cookie,” Cannon said.
She had been friends with McMahon, who helped her set up her breakfast and lunch menu. “As he was helping me set this up, he got a taste of downtown; he got a taste of what downtown is like and to be a small business. Our clientele is completely different than what he’s used to. He said, ‘Tiphanie, I think I’d like to come aboard.’”
McMahon was named 2019 Iowa Chef of the Year by the Iowa Restaurant Association.
This summer, Cannon then started dinner service and decided to rebrand since they couldn’t do dinner, catering, parties and a bar under “Oh So Sweet.”
“That’s what really led to the name change and rebranding,” she said, noting that just happened last week. She continues to cater weddings, receptions and parties with her baked goodies and other foods.
Tiphanie’s is also switching to wait service. Instead of fast casual, ordering at the counter, the restaurant will have servers take orders at tables. Tiphanie’s does a lot of takeout and DoorDash.
The party room is booked solid this year and people are planning for 2024, she said.
Open for dinner
“My biggest challenge as a business owner is marketing dinner,” Cannon said. “People have a pre-conceived notion of what Oh So Sweet is, or was, which is baked goods and lunch, right? We’ve been doing that very successfully for almost 10 years.”
“We’re so much more than a bakery,” she said. “With a bar, patio, we have so much more to offer.”
One of her favorite McMahon’s dinner entrees is called “Steak My Breath Away” ($35) — Korean inspired marinated steak, nestled on a bed of fresh herbed ginger rice, sliced foraged radishes, shredded crunchy cabbage, and topped with sweet, spicy and savory Kalbi Sauce then garnished with crunchy fried garlic chips and corn nuts.
For more information, including the menu, visit Tiphanie’s website HERE.
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