A Look Back at the Great Places We Ate For Listener Lunch 2025 [GALLERY]

November 25th marks our final Listener Lunch of 2025, so we're taking a walk down memory lane!

The Restaurants

Every year from January to November, Brain and I have the pleasure of hosting Listener Lunch. Every Tuesday at 11:30, we get to have a delicious meal at a local restaurant with an awesome group of listeners. 11 months of lunch means that we've eaten at 11 different restaurants in 2025! Here are all the places we went this year:

• January - Raging Ryno's, Cedar Rapids
• February - Crosby's, Cedar Rapids
• March - Riley's Cafe on 5th, Cedar Rapids
• April - Tiffy Jo's Diner & Energy Bar, Cedar Rapids
• May - Lucky's on 16th, Cedar Rapids
• June - Boondocks, Anamosa
• July - Runt's Munchies, Cedar Rapids (now closed)
• August - Goldfinch Tap + Eatery, Marion
• September - Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, Cedar Rapids
• October - Shuey's Restaurant & Lounge, Shueyville
• November - Napoli's Italian Restaurant, Cedar Rapids/Marion

The Winners

This year was HUGE when it comes to lunch entries. For the first time, we had more than 420 people submit their workplaces for a chance to win free food! Here are the companies that were chosen as winners this year:

• 6th Judicial Department of Corrections
• ADM
• Altorfer CAT
• Amtek
• Anamosa Community Schools
• Benton Mutual Insurance
• BWC, Inc.
• Certa Pro Painters
• City of Coralville
• Collins Aerospace
• Culligan
• Dahm, Knapp, & Associates
• Four Oaks
• Grantwood AEA
• Hibu
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hupp Toyota Lift
• ImOn
• Lewis Bottoms Farms
• Linn-Mar High School
• Junge Mazda
• KraftHeinz
• Mad City Windows and Baths
• Madsen Custom Homes Inc.
• Matt Hennings Trucking
• Mercy Care
• Monticello Aviation
• NISC
• Pipe Pro Inc.
• The Play Cafe
• The Powder Shop
• Prairie Farms
• Precision Drywall
• Ryder Logistics
• Sally's Beauty
• Savant Tax & Consulting
• Shao Family Dental
• To the Rescue
• TrueNorth
• UIHC
• United Grading and Landscaping
• University of Iowa ICC
• West Delaware County Community School District
• Worley Warehousing

The Food

And now, for the best part... the FOOD! Here are some of the amazing things we ate at Listener Lunch in 2025!

Listener Lunch 2026

Since we take December off each year because of the holidays, Listener Lunch will officially resume in January. As soon as we know what our first lunch location is, we will start taking entries for 2026 HERE. In the meantime, be sure to check out some of these awesome restaurants during the holiday season. Support local! And remember, gift cards make great presents!

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READ MORE: Big Holiday Events Across Eastern Iowa For December 2025 [LIST]