Marco’s Grilled Cheese opens new location

CORALVILLE — Those wanting a classic Johnson County grilled cheese no longer have to stay close to downtown Iowa City late at night.

Marco’s Grilled Cheese, the iconic late-night munchies brand, has opened in Coralville — one of two planned brick-and-mortar expansions. There, Marco’s will offer a variety of sandwiches, street tacos, quesadillas and Walking Tacos.

The new Coralville location opened June 15 at 517 Second St., Suite 1, a former Pita Pit shop on the Coralville Strip.

The two new locations, similar in size to the flagship Linn Street restaurant, will offer more focused menus with potential for late-night service and delivery. Owner Mark Paterno hopes to cut down his current menu by about 30 percent to focus on sandwiches, burgers, tacos and other specialties.

“I’m really optimistic. Both locations are going into places where there aren’t a lot of late-night options,” he said. “With these new locations, I’m going to try to (offer service) day and night.”

The sites follow the brick-and-mortar expansion of George’s Best Gyros and Marco’s Island last year. Both started as food carts.

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Pelican’s Snoballs opens Iowa first shaved ice location in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Just in time for summer, Pelican’s Snoballs has opened a new location in Cedar Rapids for shaved ice.

The new place to beat the heat opened June 3 at 2702 Sixth St. SW.

Pelican’s differentiates its shaved ice from competitors. Unlike a “snow cone” of crunchy, chunky ice you might get at a fair, these Snoballs are served as soft, fluffy shaved ice.

Its menu offers more than 100 flavors including unique novelties like carrot cake, cantaloupe, mojito, tamarind, praline and wedding cake.

The chain, started in Louisiana in 2001, has 215 locations in 19 states. Its namesake, the pelican, Louisiana’s state bird.

The business has grown significantly since its founder sold the business in 2017. Since then, when it had 80 stores, it has more than doubled in size.

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Fry Daddy’s closes in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Less than a month after opening, Fry Daddy’s has suddenly closed.

The new option for sandwiches, pizza, fried chicken and more ramped up for opening in May, with announcements indicating an opening soon. The new restaurant at 1500 20th St. SW planned to have specialties in fried fish, shrimp, and chicken meal deal options.

Late last week, patrons started noticing signs on the door that the restaurant had closed, right above a sign indicating the space was available to lease.

Fry Daddy’s Facebook page has been removed and a message on its website also confirms it is closed “until further notice.”

The former occupant of the restaurant’s space, Olive Tree, moved across the street to 2201 16th Ave. SW in July 2022, after Rosy’s Salvadoran & Mexican restaurant closed.

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