Marco’s Pizza has abruptly closed its last four restaurants in Iowa, including locations in Cedar Rapids and North Liberty.
The locations were closed as of Sunday, Jan. 4. A location map on the Marco’s Pizza website confirms the closures, showing no locations remaining in Iowa.
Marco’s Chief Development Officer Gerardo Flores released an official statement on the closures Jan. 8.
“The franchisee operating the four locations in Iowa that closed wanted to consolidate its portfolio to develop their other geographic territories,” Mr. Flores said in the statement. “Marco’s plans to open more than 80 new locations in 2026 and would love to speak with prospective Iowa-based franchisees interested in fully developing that market.”
Marco’s Pizza opened its first Iowa location in late 2007 at the Town & Country Shopping Center. That location closed in July 2010, according to The Gazette.
By 2014, Marco’s had opened its most current location at 6905 C Ave. NE, next to the former Family Video store at that site. That location was one of the six in Iowa that closed Jan. 4.
Marco’s Pizza also had a location at 415 Community Dr, North Liberty, which had been operating since at least 2015, also adjacent to a former Family Video. That location also closed Jan. 4.
“Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to close this location, and we will not be reopening,” said an automated response to a phone call placed to the North Liberty location Jan. 7.
Other Marco’s Pizza restaurants in Iowa that closed Jan. 4 were located in Waterloo and Davenport.
Marco’s Italian & American Foods in Dubuque, a locally-owned restaurant, remains open and is not affiliated with the national Marco’s Pizza chain.
NOTE: An earlier version of this story indicated that six Marco’s locations in Iowa closed Jan. 4. The locations in the Des Moines area, in Waukee and Windsor Heights, were closed in the first half of 2025, according to a Marco’s spokesperson.
