Kalona Brewing Company will close at the end of the month. The craft brewery and restaurant located in downtown Kalona will serve its final beers on Oct. 31. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to recover financially from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” owners Ted and Becky Nagy said in a post on the brewery’s […]
Eastern Iowa Food & Drink
John’s Grocery fried chicken returns for one night only as part of Chicken Town, a FEaST fundraiser
Many Iowa Citians have had a fried chicken-shaped hole in their lives since John’s Grocery closed its kitchen in early 2022. But this month, they’ll have a chance to fill that void with a two-piece (or two), if they act quickly. The fried chicken that was a staple for University of Iowa students and other […]
Dodge Street Coffeehouse will reopen next month, but not on Dodge Street
Dodge Street Coffeehouse, an Iowa City favorite that closed its doors earlier this year, will reopen. Just not on Dodge Street. “Next month we’ll be opening at South District Market!” the coffeehouse’s owner announced in a Facebook post on Saturday. “We’re excited to join the lovely folks there and get to know the neighborhood. It’s quite […]
LV Recommends: 8 local restaurants to try in the Quad Cities
Mantra Indian Cuisine & Spirits is a classic Northern Indian restaurant that has been a staple of downtown Davenport cuisine for years. Best known for their lunch buffet,
Taste of Iowa City returns on Wednesday with food from dozens of restaurants, live music by Dave Zollo
Taste of Iowa City returns for its 16th year on Wednesday. This year’s event will feature food from 48 downtown and Northside eateries, as well as live music. Taste of Iowa City “offers the perfect opportunity for new students and food lovers to experience the diverse culinary offerings from our local downtown restaurants and chefs” […]
Market After Dark returns to Cedar Rapids on Saturday
Market After Dark is returning for its ninth year, as the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market’s 2024 season nears its end. There will be more than 125 market vendors offering their wares at the four-and-an-half-hour event, which starts at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. “This festive event is known for its unique atmosphere where patrons 21 […]
LV Recommends: 14 local restaurants to try in Cedar Rapids
Nestled into the back corner of the Town & Country Shopping Center, Siamville is one of those spots that’s easy to miss but hard to forget. It’s the perfect place for a casual lunch date, with a pad thai that’s right at the ideal intersection of sweet and savory.
Already an Iowa City street-food favorite, Snacky Mini Mart puts the ‘bing’ in mind-blowing
Starting a new restaurant can feel like surfing a tsunami. Luckily, the cousin-cousin culinary team behind Snacky Mini Mart has a great sense of balance. Sandy and Vivian Pei launched their pan-Asian food stall at the Iowa City Farmers Market in spring 2023, cooking under a red canopy and hand-painted signs made by Sandy, one […]
Fire destroys the Lighthouse Inn, a Cedar Rapids landmark and one of Iowa’s oldest restaurants
The Lighthouse Inn, a century-old supper club and Cedar Rapids landmark, was destroyed by a fire on Wednesday morning. According to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, shortly after 5 a.m., a 911 caller reported seeing “smoke and flame coming from the roof” of the Lighthouse. Deputies along with Cedar Rapids firefighters were dispatched to the […]
LV Recommends: 13 local restaurants to try in Iowa City & Coralville
A popular breakfast eatery for nearly 90 years, Hamburg Inn No. 2 found new life in 2023 when new owners saved it from certain death.
Photos: Table to Table’s big potato rescue
Little Village captured photos at Table to Table’s potato packing party on Friday, March 15. The nonprofit received a donation of an entire semi truckload of russet potatoes (an estimated 58,000 pounds). Volunteers from United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties and 5224Good sorted and moved the spuds into more manageable boxes. Table to Table […]
LV Recommends: New Taste of India spices up a ’50s diner in West Liberty
Many of us who lived in Johnson County in the ’80s and ’90s can remember Rockitz, an iconic traditional American diner right off interstate 80 by the West Liberty exit. I’m pretty sure Fonzie frequented there, or some scene of American Graffiti was shot there. The diner didn’t make it past the turn of the […]

