Ideal Theater & Bar first in Cedar Rapids to complete SAFE Bar Network training [Video]

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Ideal Theater and Bar is the first in Cedar Rapids to train its staff through a national safety program.

It’s called the SAFE Bar Network. The training is designed to make people feel safer and more comfortable in a bar setting, especially women. It teaches staff how to be proactive in preventing over-consumption or harassment by giving them tools to de-escalate uncomfortable situations.

“It creates accountability between staff and management, between staff and staff, and then the venue and community. As you have venues that are sharing with the community around them that it’s important to be able to manage situations, you’re also creating clear expectations about what is realistic and what isn’t realistic for a venue to be able to do in a situation,” says Darian Everding, with the SAFE Bar Network.

Kenyon Thorp, owner of the Ideal Theater & Bar, says she was excited by how different this …