Jonesy’s owners cite family needs as reason to close, or sell, Center Point staple

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Jonesy’s Restaurant has been drawing people to Center Point for 30 years with good service, good food, and some of the biggest tenderloins around.

Owner Deborah Klouda started working there just a few years after it opened. And three years ago, she and her husband Dan took over.

“Dan and I have gone from doing concessions trailers, to working in the restaurant, to going ‘maybe it’d be a great thing [to own],’” Klouda said. “So, opportunity came our way and we took it up.”

But last year, they decided to put the business up for sale.

”The main part for our decision was that my husband has a lung disease, and it’s on the mend,” Klouda said. “We want to keep it that way, and the oils are pretty detrimental here at the restaurant for it.”

They have decided that unless they are able to sell the restaurant soon, they’ll shut down for good on October 15. Many long-time regulars say that losing the restaurant is like losing a special connection. It’s one that Debbie and John McCracken, of Marion, have come for once or twice a month for over two decades.

“You know it’s just part of our history we come up here and were not gonna be able come up here and see the kids grow up,” Debbie said.

Klouda said that since making the announcement on their Facebook page they’ve seen some interest from buyers.

“I want people to just be open to something new,” Klouda said. “It’s an ending to a new beginning, you know, and it’s gonna be a great thing for the community. I really think it will be.”

This potential closure will not affect either of the Jonesy’s restaurants in Iowa City or Cedar Rapids.

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