Hunter
08/22/23
The iconic Iowa City restaurant Hamburg Inn No. 2 is slated to reopen this fall, with a local management team at the helm.
According to a Monday release, Nate Kaeding and Gold Cap Hospitality, owners of Pullman Bar & Diner and St. Burch Tavern in downtown Iowa City, purchased The Hamburg Inn No. 2 this week with the intention of stewarding the next generation of the iconic restaurant.
Hamburg Inn closed for a couple of months during the COVID pandemic and eventually reopened with a skeleton crew. The business slowly became fully staffed and was able to maintain regular business hours. Then-manager Robert Ehl told the Press-Citizen at the end of 2022 that the business was closing in early January and that it was up to the building and business owner Michael Lee whether the closing would be permanent or temporary.
Employees alleged that they had not received final paychecks, and the business was cited by Johnson County Public Health for violations in spring 2022. Before reopening and then closing up again this year, plumbing issues prevented restrooms from being open at times.
Joe Panther opened his first restaurant in Iowa City in 1935, and opened Hamburg Inn No. 2 in 1948. The original Hamburg Inn #1 on Iowa Avenue closed in 1978. Other Hamburg Inn locations on Rochester Avenue and in Cedar Rapids closed in recent years.
Dave Panther, who bought Hamburg #2 from his parents in 1979 and ran it until 2016, says in the release that he couldn’t be happier that Kaeding’s group is keeping it around.
A specific reopening date will be announced in the coming weeks.
