By Genevieve Trainor, Iowa City Like the rest of the Iowa City community, I’ve known since April that very public foreclosure proceedings made the fate of the businesses in the Chauncey Building and elsewhere uncertain (other than FilmScene, which owns its locations). But I only just saw the headlines yesterday that SpareMe was definitely closing. […]
Iowa City restaurants
Posted inFood & Drink
Ramen, pastries and that vindaloo they do so well at Iowa City and Coralville restaurants
For the 2025 Bread & Butter dining guide, Little Village food reviewers visited and reviewed six Iowa City area eateries, including a few notable newbies to the scene. Saj Grill, 23 S Dubuque St, Iowa City: Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dining have come full force to downtown Iowa City. Locals boast about the quality of its Jordanian cuisine — falafel, shawarma, baba ganoush, hummus, gyros and more — citing it as “food that tastes like home.” Owners promise bold spices, fresh ingredients and halal-certified meat.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Black Rose in West Branch aims to be a cozy, boozy and bookish hangout ‘for anyone who feels othered’
When Ashley Kofoed first arrived in West Branch with her fiancé, it was to meet her future in-laws for dinner at the local Brick Arch Winery. Dining with her family within the spacious building — which features two stories and a basement, three gas fireplaces, elegant wood finishes, a stage, a dance floor, a kitchen […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The Wedge and its signature specialty pizzas are back in downtown Iowa City
After being gone for a decade, The Wedge Pizzeria has returned to downtown Iowa City. Known for its innovative specialty pizzas, The Wedge debuted in its new location at 113 Iowa Ave, next to Joe’s Place, on Wednesday. “The space is pretty cool,” Regina Miller, the pizzeria’s co-owner, told Little Village. “It’s got high-ceilings, we’ve […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission to hold public hearing on landmark status for building that’s home to Pagliai’s Pizza
The Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing during its Thursday evening meeting on the possibility of conferring landmark status on the Northside building that’s been home to Pagliai’s Pizza since 1969. The building at 302-316 E Bloomington St, properly known as the Slezak-Holub-Skarda Building, dates back to 1876 and, despite the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Mosley’s is closing its second and final location, ending an eight-year run in the Iowa City area
Mosley’s, one of the best places to eat barbecue in eastern Iowa, is closing. If that sounds familiar, it’s because this is the second time “Mosley’s is closing” has made the news in two months. Mosley’s original location on S Gilbert Street in Iowa City closed on Aug. 26. “We’re moving our operation completely to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
LV Recommends: Harry’s Bar & Grill is an old-school diner with distinctly Iowa City DNA
Like its seasonal student population, Iowa City is constantly in a state of change. Brand-new downtown diner Harry’s Bar & Grill (116 E Washington St) is offering a chance to step back in time to Iowa City in the ’60s and ’70s, when a beloved and campy landmark bookstore called Epstein’s Books still existed. The […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The 148-year-old building that’s home to Pagliai’s Pizza is up for sale; Iowa City officials to consider granting it landmark status
The address 302 E Bloomington St may not sound familiar to many, but almost everyone living in Iowa City, and generations of students and visitors, know Pagliai’s Pizza. The 19th century building in Iowa City’s Northside Neighborhood has been home to the iconic pizzeria since the ’70s, and its future is a topic for discussion […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Hamburg Inn No. 2 will reopen later this year under new ownership
Hamburg Inn No. 2, a fixture of Iowa City’s Northside for 75 years, will reopen this fall, the restaurant’s new owners said on Monday. Hamburg Inn closed suddenly in July. It was the second time it shut down this year. “The Burg needs some fixing up,” Nate Kaeding of Gold Cap Hospitality said in a […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
With La Wine Bar, ShanShan Kong has turned an unlucky block into a downtown IC oasis
ShanShan Kong has been making hard-to-come-by Korean and Chinese dishes available in downtown Iowa City for three years. She opened La Wine Bar & Restaurant in fall 2019 at 180 E Burlington — the short-lived home of a Zombie Burger and a BeerBurger franchise — and mustered through the pandemic. She now operates several other […]
