IOWA CITY—You can’t walk far in the Hamburg Inn No. 2 without running into reminders of American presidential history.
Down in the basement, just before you hit your head against a low bathroom ceiling, there’s a door plastered in bumper stickers from campaigns past: Ross Perot for President, Bush-Quayle ’92, Tom Vilsack, Ross Perot ’92 (again), and so on.
Both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton swung by the diner, albeit after their presidencies. Barack Obama came in 2007, before he was elected and back when Iowa was still first in the nation for both major parties.
After briefly closing in 2023, the restaurant reopened later that year under new owners in time for the GOP caucus season….