Our Story

In 1984, Zio Johno’s opened its first restaurant in Cedar Rapids, launching a new concept of providing homemade fresh Italian dishes at affordable prices. This concept only works by using the highest quality ingredients to capture the authentic Italian taste.

 

The initial pasta dishes were spaghetti, lasagna, mostaccioli and ravioli with homemade pasta sauces. The bread, made fresh daily, for their garlic bread and famous Gondola Sub Sandwich captured customers’ taste buds. Word got around that the signature spaghetti with meat sauce and a side of fresh garlic bread pleased all.

 

Demand for homemade from scratch Italian dishes drove Zio Johno’s to expand their menu to include pizza, beef & cheese ravioli, tortellini, fettuccini alfredo, gyros, sub sandwiches and more. Additional restaurants were opened… today, three restaurants: Cedar Rapids, Marion and Iowa City. Zio Johno’s is still owned and operated by the same local family.

 

Zio Johno’s contributes much of their success to the employees. They are considered part of the family. Everyone plays a role in providing a family serving bucket of spaghetti or individual oven baked lasagna entrée.

 

Community involvement is another ingredient to success. Giving back through fundraisers, donations and sponsorships to schools, churches, businesses, food banks and other community organizations has  made a measurable change to both the communities they serve and to Zio Johno’s.

 

Youngster, teens, parents, adults…. All are satisfied with Zio Johno’s Italian dishes. Try their signature spaghetti with meat sauce and homemade fresh garlic bread. Or the pizza, ravioli, tortellini, mostaccioli,  lasagna… “Simply the Best.”

 

Zio Johno’s will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary, 1984 to 2024. Zio Johno’s is having their first Annual Spaghetti Eating Contest at the Tailgate in the Park event, Saturday October 5th at Lowe Park Marion, IA. Celebrating forty years of delicious, affordable Italian cuisine with an anniversary special - Spaghetti & Garlic Bread $4.99 - October 8,15, 22 & 29. Our customers and the communities they live in are the reason we have been able to serve great Italian food at great prices for all these years. 

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Dine-in, Carry-out, Delivery or Catering. Experience "The Hometown Taste of Italy" at one of the three Zio Johno’s Spaghetti House restaurants in Cedar Rapids, Marion or Iowa City.