Iowa City’s Hamburg Inn No. 2 has reopened after being closed for one month
Following a two-month closure due to repairs, the diner has reopened.
Hamburg Inn No. 2 is seen on April 6, 2022.
March 2, 2023
Well-known Iowa City diner Hamburg Inn No. 2 reopened Feb. 22 with new management following a two-month closure.
The restaurant, located at 214 N. Linn St., closed in January to reportedly make repairs after a pipe burst during a winter storm in December 2022.
Following Hamburg Inn No.2’s temporary shutdown, a number of the diner’s employees accused owner Michael Lee for not paying them, as previously reported by The Daily Iowan.
When the restaurant reopened, new management and some returning employees were brought on.
RELATED: Iowa City Hamburg Inn No. 2 to reopen in February
After claims of not receiving their paychecks following the closure, it has not been confirmed nor denied whether employees received those last paychecks.
The reopened Hamburg Inn No. 2 hasn’t seen any major modifications except for a number of price changes and additional menu items.
Lee, who lives in Taiwan, purchased the restaurant and the building from the Panther family in 2016. Various members of the Panther family ran the restaurant from its opening in the late 1930s until Lee gained ownership.
The restaurant has been an Iowa City staple for nearly nine decades, having been visited by former U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, and hosts the Coffee Bean Caucus every primary season.
