What Led to the Sudden Closure of a Popular Waterloo Restaurant?

Carlos O'Kelly's Waterloo Location Shuts Down After 30 Years

Residents of the Cedar Valley are left confused after a surprising announcement last month.

A popular restaurant in Waterloo abruptly closed with very little explanation.

For thirty years, this specific Carlos O'Kelly's location has been a go to spot for margaritas, queso, and a fun night out with friends.

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Why Did Carlos O'Kelly's Close in Waterloo? Here's What We Know

On March 31st at around 2:00 PM, the social media team for the Waterloo Carlos Kelly's posted a statement on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

In a five sentence post, the staff confirmed that the location at 2060 Sovia Drive had been closed permanently.

"Thank you for over three decades of celebrating with us in Waterloo."

Carlos O'Kelly's is a Midwestern chain of "tex-mex" restaurants. There are twelve locations across Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Here in the Hawkeye State, you can find five locations. These include Marion, Iowa City, Dubuque, Cedar Falls, and Cedar Rapids.

Carlos O'Kelly's Closure Explained: Expensive Rent and Maintenance Costs

This post also explained that the reason for the closure was due to the location's lease being up. In a report from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, the higher ups for the eatery gave a more in-depth response.

The vice-president of marketing, Dave Phillips, for Thrive Restaurant Group (the organization that owns the Carlos O'Kelly's and Applebees) claimed that the rent for this spot was getting too expensive.

He went on to say in the Courier article, "When a building gets older, there's a lot of maintenance to get it up to code and when a lease expires, it becomes more expensive."

Phillips also said that instead of paying for any repairs for the Waterloo building, they decided to close it down. The Waterloo location has been in that specific spot since the late '90s.

Luckily, the Cedar Falls spot at College Square Mall is still open for business.

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