Cedar Rapids restaurant slashes hours, concerns over lack of office business and safety

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Gianna’s Italian Beef in downtown Cedar Rapids has shifted their hours, now closing almost four hours earlier than before.

The nearly six-year-old restaurant says there have been a variety of issues making it difficult to stay open later in the evening, from safety concerns to a lack of downtown business bringing in customers.

“It’s the office buildings that have destroyed us, because there’s nobody in them, and they all work from home,” Vinny Russo, one of the restaurant partners, said.

The Cedar Rapids Downtown District says the amount of people working in downtown is still below pre-pandemic levels, but the amount of development is encouraging.

“Most people are very upbeat about the big upswing from numerous construction projects, new business openings and signs of progress and vibrancy throughout downtown,” the Downtown District said, in a statement to TV-9.

Another of Russo’s concerns is the safety of his customers and staff.

He often finds drug paraphernalia along the sidewalk as he does his routine sweep of the storefront. This is concerning for Russo, as he considers Gianna’s a family restaurant that doesn’t serve alcohol.

”I find cigarette butts, I find joint butts, I find glass pipes, which is definitely not for tobacco use,” Russo said. “You have a lot of drugs being pushed around, and you can see it… it breaks my heart.”

He also worries about people using drugs around the restaurant, which is another vital reason the business opted to close earlier.

“I have women that work here and the last thing I want at 8 o’clock while I’m taking out the garbage to have to deal with this kind of stuff,” Russo said. “If anything, I’ll take it out or my son will take it out.”

Cedar Rapids Police say they’ve been to the store twice this year, once for a fight and once for a theft, neither of those instances were severe.

“The police do a great job. They really try, and they patrol pretty heavily,” Russo said.

Russo appreciates the city’s efforts to keep things safe and feels supported by the town, but he says he’d like to see more resources for homeless people in Cedar Rapids to help curb drug use.

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