Historic Iowa City restaurant, Hamburg Inn No. 2, has joined Gold Cap Hospitality group’s collective of restaurants, which includes Pullman Bar & Diner and St. Burch Tavern.
The restaurant, 214 N. Linn St., had announced a temporary closure in 2022 and re-opened for a short time in February 2023, closing its doors again in July. It’s now planned to reopen in October.
Known as an Iowa City staple and icon, the Hamburg Inn No. 2 has hosted a variety of political guests and presidential hopefuls and became nationally recognized for its “Coffee Bean Caucus” to gauge support for candidates. A fictional recreation of the establishment was even featured in NBC’s “The West Wing” in 2005.
“We couldn’t miss the opportunity to take the business and grow it and move it forward into its next era,” Nate Kaeding, founding partner and lead strategist of Gold Cap, said in an exclusive interview with the CBJ. “The Hamburg Inn holds a special place in the history and heartbeat of Iowa City, and that’s something you can’t recreate with a brand new place.”
In a post on the restaurant’s website that went live on Aug. 21, Mr. Kaeding wrote that he and Gold Cap “believe The Burg matters because it became a place for everyone in Iowa City,” and the group wants to keep it that way.
“The Burg doesn’t need new ideas,” the message said. “At least, we don’t think it does. It just needs to remember who it was. Sure, we might try a new thing or two. We’re still figuring that out. A little change can be good.”
A remodel and a revamp of the menu is planned before the reopening of the restaurant, but Mr. Kaeding said the hospitality group hopes to “capture that essence” and maintain the nostalgia of the Hamburg Inn’s legacy.
News of the acquisition brings with it the formal introduction of Mr. Kaeding’s Gold Cap Hospitality group.
“We hope that what we do at Gold Cap can contribute to keeping Iowa City the best college town in America,” Mr. Kaeding said.
