Former BurgerFiend to become Breakfast Barn and Lunch House in NE Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — BurgerFiend’s second location, which closed at 3980 Center Point Rd. NE in July, will soon reopen as Breakfast Barn and Lunch House, according to owner Omar Igram and marketing manager Shawn Lekin.

After some remodeling to the kitchen and dining room, Lekin told The Gazette the new restaurant is planning a grand opening in late January or early February. Photos of the new space show custom booths, modern wood and tin paneling with warm tones, and a more closed kitchen for a relaxed “easy, fun vibe,” Lekin said.

The new restaurant will feature fresh-squeezed orange juice, broasted chicken and “an all-star Barn menu” of favorites and select homestyle recipes.

The building, which for a few years was BurgerFiend’s only location, closed abruptly after BurgerFiend reopened its original location at 2020 16th Ave. SW last March, which remains open today.

“It came down to dollars and cents. It was a real tough decision, but we had to choose between the two (locations),” Lekin told The Gazette in July.

Coming out of the pandemic, he said the restaurant expected a resurgence in business at the Center Point Road location, but that didn’t materialize as strongly as management anticipated. Performance levels changed drastically between March and July 2020, after the southwest location reopened.

The owner of the northeast Cedar Rapids building previously planned to lease it to a Mexican restaurant after BurgerFiend closed there in July, according to ongoing communications with Lekin. Remodeling in the new location apparently started after those plans fell through.

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