Campaigning is an integral part of an election; in Iowa City, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have visited a local restaurant in the past decades. However, there has been little political activity and shaking of hands at the Hamburg Inn No. 2 in Iowa City this election cycle.

The voting process for a country as large as the U.S. naturally breaks the country into many different sections, down to county. The localization in these elections allows each area to communicate its collective beliefs, and these beliefs can often characterize the people and social landscapes.

Despite the wide opportunities to vote locally, disseminated by flier and text message, there is a place in Iowa City that has attracted political minds, social discourse, and a microcosm of the local political landscape in a way little seen elsewhere.

Hamburg Inn No. 2, named “No. 2” when it moved to its new location at 214 N Linn St. in 1948, has been an Iowa City restaurant specializing in breakfast food since 1935. Not only does it serve the quality food that has kept it open for 90 years, but it has been the place in Iowa City for numerous political candidates, governors, and presidents to come and shake hands with residents of Iowa City.

The restaurant seems to buzz for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is a quaint place with a variety of seating that fits into a small area; unlike a few downtown Iowa City restaurants, there never seems to be a slow period. Someone eating alone at Hamburg is never really alone — a fact that contributes very much to its political discourse setting.

Hamburg Co-owner and Director of Hospitality Stephanie Breitbach, who bought the restaurant in 2023, said the trend of politicians visiting the restaurant began with former president Ronald Reagan in 1992.

“Since then, it became almost an urban legend in itself because you started to see these candidates coming by,” Breitbach said.

The walls are adorned with pictures of politicians, signed photographs, and various campaign stickers. From the entrance, the back left corner features a picture of former Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad.

Breitbach said that despite some outward appearances, the Hamburg has no intention to push political ideas. Instead, the restaurant has organically become a place for political interaction.

“We are providing a place for people to talk about ideas, talk about their community, and that lends itself to the political side of it,” she said.

The restaurant even appeared in “The West Wing,” a political drama that aired from 1999 to 2006.

However, the location offers more than the abstract concept of discourse; an ideation of  former owner Dave Panther, Breitbach said, is the restaurant’s “Coffee Bean Caucus.”

The caucus features several jars lined atop the windowsill near the entrance. Each jar is decorated with a candidate’s name, and at the check-in table is a jar of coffee beans with which patrons can vote.

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One more jar was added recently, as the jar marked “Harris” was overflowing and required a new receptacle to keep counting votes.

The tradition has held strong through changing owners, which Breitbach said represents a strong Iowa City community despite a changing political landscape.

“It is so important to the community in continuing that sense of place that Iowa City has and so you can’t really do any work without a ‘Coffee Bean Caucus’ at this point,” Breitbach said.

The jar dedicated to former President Donald Trump is about half full, while the remaining jars for older, pre-primary candidates are nearly empty.

The coffee bean caucus and Hamburg itself resonate with local Iowa City residents, demonstrating an underestimated but critical means for elected officials and candidates to interact with the people.

Iowa City resident and political organizer Barbara Helmick, leaving Hamburg, said the coffee bean caucus is a way to brighten up politics for the community.

“It’s great fun,” she said. “I’m totally excited about making politics fun again.”

Alongside Helmick stood Iowa City resident Ron Clark, who said the caucus is a tradition that will remain strong in the face of political change. He himself has cast a bean many times in the past.

“It’s a grand tradition where politicians have come to stake a claim on Iowa City’s voters and get a sense of who we are,” he said. “The tradition of the coffee bean caucus endures.”