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Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-state area. This edition highlights developments in Maquoketa, Iowa, and Fennimore, Wis.
A recently opened Maquoketa restaurant offers pizza and pub-style food alongside an adjacent ice cream parlor that launched last month.
Copper Cardinal Pizza Pub, 202 S. Main St., opened last week after Copper Cardinal Ice Cream Shoppe, located in the same building, began serving customers in mid-July.
“The anticipation for the pizza pub is off the charts,” said Tiffany Mangler, the manager for both businesses. “We think we’ll be pretty busy for a while.”
Mangler said the two businesses are owned by Jason Harper, who also owns Hall of Fame Pizza & Wings in DeWitt and in Eldridge, Iowa. Harper bought the historic Maquoketa building about two years ago and renovated it to create the restaurant and ice cream parlor, along with a commercial space and apartments.
Some of the building’s original features were retained during the renovation, including a copper ceiling, which inspired the first part of the businesses’ names. The second part, “Cardinal,” was chosen in honor of Maquoketa Community School District’s mascot.
Copper Cardinal Ice Cream Shoppe offers hard-scoop ice cream, shakes, malts and sundaes, while the pizza pub’s menu includes appetizers, pastas, wings, salads, sandwiches and pizza.
“It’s a pub-style pizza with a thin crust, and you can do your traditional (toppings) like sausage and mushroom, but we also have a line of specialty pizzas that are unique to us,” Mangler said.
The pub’s pizzas include “The Big German,” which features bratwurst and sauerkraut; “The Couch Potato,” topped with fried potatoes, onion, bacon and sour cream; and “Mac Attack,” which Mangler described as a McDonald’s Big Mac in pizza form.
Mangler said the business employs about 30 people and offers dine-in, delivery and carryout options.
Copper Cardinal Pizza Pub is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays. The business can be reached at 563-652-7271.