Happy Joe’s moving, will offer carryout, delivery

CEDAR RAPIDS - After nearly 25 years on the southwest corner of Edgewood Road and 16th Avenue SW, Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor is moving to a new location.

Travis Bark, general manager of the popular party venue at 3419 16th Ave. SW, said the new location at 3315 Williams Blvd. SW in Williams Plaza will offer delivery and carryout. It will not offer dine-in seating, a game room or a party room.

"We hope to be open by the end of next week,” Bark said. “We have some finishing details that may delay us. Once we have the clearance from everybody at our new location, we will close our operations where we're currently located.”

Bark said the decision to eliminate dine-in seating and only offer delivery and carryout service was driven by finding the right location on the west side of Cedar Rapids and the timing of the move.

“We were not able to find the best location for a full-service restaurant,” he said. “We will continue to offer full service at our east side location (5070 Lindale Dr. NE).”

Bark said there will be no loss of employment for employees when Happy Joe's moves to Williams Plaza. “Between the two locations, we are confident that everyone who currently works at our 16th Avenue location will continue to be employed,” he said.

Happy Joe's west side location opened on April 13, 1986. The land and building were purchased last year by CVS Caremark for the construction of a new CVS drugstore.

CVS is a major competitor of Chicago-based Walgreen Co., which operates a store across Edgewood Road SW at 3325 16th Ave. SW, and recently opened a store on the northwest corner of Edgewood Road and Johnson Avenue NW.

---- The new Walgreens store is less than a mile from a location at 4825 Johnson Ave. NW operated by regional competitor Hy-Vee Drugstore. Walgreen Co. earlier opened a store on C Avenue NE just north of Blairs Ferry Road that is less than a mile from the Hy-Vee Drugstore at 505 Boyson Rd. NE.