116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
CR Midnight Smoker BBQ opens at new stand-alone location in northwest Cedar Rapids
Find more meat, more sides and a new groove to enjoy with it
Apr. 28, 2025 6:00 am, Updated: Apr. 28, 2025 7:15 am
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Tobacco use may be on the decline, but smoking is bigger than ever at Cedar Rapids’ latest barbecue opening.
Two and a half years after his opening at NewBo City Market, a humble brisket smoker turned restaurateur has taken a big step outside of the small business incubator into a freestanding space for CR Midnight Smoker BBQ.
With seating for 90, live entertainment and an address in an up-and-coming area, the barbecue staple is no longer just a food option.
“We’re already starting to become a destination for people,” said owner Greg Stoll. “This area is ripe for development.”
If you go:
Address: 301 F Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. or until sold out — which happens regularly — Thursday through Saturday. Hours on Sunday and Wednesday planned for the future.
Phone: (319) 200-0060
Website: crmidnightsmokerbbq.com
Details: Find a diverse array of styles representing America’s best barbecue cities in ribs, brisket, pulled pork, Boudin sausage and chicken alongside Iowa beers, smokehouse sides and a growing selection of appetizers and desserts. Live entertainment featured on weekends.
Rapid growth
Many restaurants find their greatest challenges in their first few years. When Stoll moved into NewBo in October 2022, he entered with a 3-5 year plan.
Had everything gone perfectly, he figured he could move out after 3 years. But before the second year was even up, they were already looking for a new home.
“The most difficult thing I’ve had is just trying to keep up,” Stoll said. “It’s kind of overwhelming.”
At NewBo, the meat sold out quickly, and there wasn’t enough kitchen and storage space to stay open four days a week — let alone room for more smokers.
The restaurant has gone from one smoker to three, if you include the mobile smoker.
Stoll can’t quite pinpoint why their growth has been so dramatic, but notes that Cedar Rapids has about half the barbecue restaurants per capita that Iowa City and Des Moines have.
“Barbecue should be fun. We enjoy our work here, and we try to have our customers feel that energy,” he said.
The space
The new space, about half way between downtown and the Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center under construction, will have plenty of energy to go around — even if the brisket sells out early.
With 3,500 square feet on the main floor — previously home to the Cedar River Landing bar — the space will soon be home to more life than its small parking lot can handle.
The naturally rustic looking building, purchased from the co-owner of The Blind Pig in Cedar Rapids and Monticello, was just the right size. The move, a $1 million investment all in, comes after Stoll declined the former owner’s first offer.
Stoll made every attempt to stay in the New Bohemia area. But every space he looked at, such as the old Thew Brewing and Chrome Horse, was either too big or too small.
“I pretty much instantly got a vision of what I wanted (this space) to look like,” Stoll said.
At the center of the space, a traditional barbecue line concept has been imported from the South to Cedar Rapids, thanks to inspiration from a tour of restaurants across St. Louis, Kansas City, New Orleans and Texas.
“What we’ve realized is we’re going to have to train Iowans how to walk through a barbecue line. The people from the South understand you come up on that board, order your meats, then you follow your tray through,” Stoll said. “Iowans don’t always get that. They come up, order their food and then start walking past things.”
He opted for this setup instead of a sit-down style with table service.
The experience allows diners to watch their meat as it’s cut — an appetite stimulating feature he’s kept from NewBo — and enjoy a series of interactions as they pick their sides and ogle the desserts on the way to the register. Restaurants outside of Iowa with this setup, he noted, had lines that moved steadily.
The interior has been refreshed in a color scheme consistent with the brand’s logo, irregular wood tables from the closed QDogs in Marion, and steampunk style lighting that complements the space with an amber glow.
The bar has been replaced with a space for live musicians under a U-shaped soffit, where stage lighting will accentuate the groove for jazz and blues bands.
Outdoors, another wooden stage awaits more music.
CR Midnight Smoker BBQ plans to have music starting this weekend. Later in May, student bands from the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy will start performing monthly through the summer.
The second floor will eventually become production space for bottling sauces and packaging rubs.
The food
They have the meats.
Building on their signature ribs, brisket, chicken and pulled pork, diners will watch a menu grow over time with more sides and desserts.
Ribs and chicken will now be available every day — not just on weekends. Brisket will continue in its Texas-style rub with a black pepper-forward profile that incorporates granulated garlic, onion and a secret ingredient that tenderizes it with acidity. Pulled pork will continue in its Memphis style.
Cooked over oak, hickory and cherry smoke for 10 to 12 hours, each meat is treated with an extra seasoning and wrapped before it reaches full temperature. Then, it rests overnight to further tenderize.
At the new location, pork will be smoked in a separate smoker from other meats to allow those with dietary restrictions to partake.
New appetizers and sides, like barbecue egg rolls or smoked macaroni and cheese, will slowly roll out. Stoll also has a couple desserts he’s excited to present.
The first, likened to a blueberry pie, serves bourbon-marinated and smoked blueberry crisp with inspiration from a dish at the now-closed Lacayo. The other, a banana pudding with peanut butter wafers instead of vanilla wafers, will be a twist on a barbecue restaurant classic.
“I’m a sucker for peanut butter and bananas,” Stoll said. “That’s one of my snacks at night.”
Everything on the menu is made from scratch including sauces, rubs, dressings and sides.
Twang, a Carolina-style vinegar sauce, is the first one he started making for family years ago, when you couldn’t buy it in stores.
Harmony, his Kansas City-style sauce, has a lot of flavors that sit easily in your mouth, where they pick up new notes.
Blues on Fire, a new sauce with a Harmony base, ups the ante with a medium heat from serrano peppers and a tart treble from blueberries — an uncommon barbecue sauce element. Greg chose the berry to add a fruit note without adding extra sweetness.
All of it can be washed down with a selection of Iowa-made beers on tap.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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