B-Bop’s breaks ground on new Cedar Rapids restaurant ahead of Eastern Iowa, out of state expansion plans

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Central Iowa fast food favorite is reintroducing itself to Eastern Iowa with a new Cedar Rapids location.

B-Bop’s the local burger chain known for its 1950s theme and double drive-thru lanes, broke ground on Monday at 5240 Buffalo Ridge Drive NE, near Fleet Farm and the intersection of Edgewood and Blairs Ferry Rd. NE.

The location, which will be the restaurant’s only one in Eastern Iowa, is expected to open in spring 2025.

The new opening is part of a larger expansion across Eastern Iowa and outside of the state for the fast food restaurant, whose 12 locations are all in the Des Moines metro region. The restaurant is eyeing multiple locations across the Eastern side of the state, including “all the bigger cities and the Quad Cities,” director of operations John Ferguson told The Gazette.

“We decided to come out to that side of the state as part of our planned continued growth for our company. Our plan is to continue to expand to other parts of the state and outside the state,” said Ferguson. “Cedar Rapids is an awesome community and it was somewhere we decided to go a couple years ago, so we started looking there and we will expand from there as well.”

B-Bop’s had three locations in the Corridor at one time, according to the Corridor Business Journal — on Edgewood Rd. SW, Blairs Ferry Rd. NE and in Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.