Cedar Rapids Restaurant News — 2 Openings, a Closure, & an Ownership Change

There are some changes coming to the Cedar Rapids restaurant scene this spring! We have details on a couple of cafe openings, the closure and relocation of a downtown restaurant, and a popular deli that will soon have new owners! Let's get into it...

Ownership Change

Before we get to the openings and closing, let's talk about the eatery that will be changing hands at the end of the month. According to a new Facebook post, Lu's Deli in the NewBo District is being taken over by the owners of Nara Thai, another local restaurant! The post reads:

"After 10 wonderful years of being part of this amazing NewBo neighborhood, Scott and I are so excited to share that Lu’s is beginning a new chapter. As of May 1, Lynn and Cory, owners of Nara Thai will be LU’s new owners. We share a passion for people, great food and warm service. Lynn has boundless energy and and an exciting vision for LU’s."

Lu's deli is known for its homemade soup, pasta salad, and subs & sandwiches, and a Facebook comment from Nara Thai says that they will do their best to keep the menu the same. A post from the owners of Nara Thai says:

"Our goal is simple: serve good food, create a warm space, and make everyone feel welcome."

Lu's Deli is currently open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon (serving Donutland donuts only). The business will change hands on May 1st.

Openings

Good news for visitors of the Downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library - a new cafe will be moving in soon! According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Horizons Family Services has signed a three-year contract that was approved back on April 2nd.

Horizons Family Services is a non-profit organization that provides 'Meals on Wheels' to seven counties here in Eastern Iowa. The hope is that they can use the revenue stream from this new venture to "benefit the nonprofit’s other initiatives to feed the community." The most recent tenant of the space was Roasters, which closed in July of 2025 and recently opened a new shop at 1120 2nd St SE in the NewBo District.

The Gazette article says that the new cafe's name will be announced on May 1st, and that the menu will include items like coffee, soup, salad, sandwiches, and wraps. They hope to open in early June.

The second opening we want to tell you about is for a place that we've known about for several months now. Back in January, we found out that the Tiffin-based shop Deja Brew Coffee House & Bakery would be expanding into Cedar Rapids. Now, that expansion is now complete!

Deja Brew at The Pines is now open at 4100 River Ridge Dr NE, which is also the home of The Pines Pizza and Pub. The coffee shop opened its drive-thru back on March 23rd, and then opened for dine-in a week later. Menu offerings include hot and ice coffee beverages, energy drinks, pastries, house-made bagels, breakfast sandwiches, and more.

Deja Brew at The Pines is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. (drive-thru opens at 6:30 a.m.) and Saturday & Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Pines Pizza and Pub's hours remain the same.

Closure

Our last piece of restaurant news is a closure. But, it's not goodbye forever! K.C. Cakes & Cajun announced on Facebook on April 9th that they are closing their Downtown Cedar Rapids restaurant at the end of the month and are planning to reopen elsewhere.

K.C. Cakes & Cajun first opened inside of NewBo City Market in November of 2023, eventually relocating to the Armstrong Building in November of 2025. Unfortunately, the new location isn't working out for the business, so they're in the process of finding another new home. The announcement reads:

"We just wanted to take a second to let everyone know that we will be closing our location inside the Armstrong Building at the end of this month. As much as it sucks to do so, that place just isn't us and we've realized that more so now than ever. With that being said, we are no where close to being done, just in between locations as we work on getting our next spot up and running..."

While the Cajun-inspired food menu will be unavailable during the relocation process, K.C. Cakes & Cajun says that they will still be able to do customer cookie and cake orders! You can get more information and place an order by sending the business a message on their Facebook page HERE.

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