Hamburg Inn No. 2 has been a dining destination in Iowa City since 1948 and has become a national political landmark with visits from President Ronald Reagan and President Barack Obama.

For the the first time in its 69-year run, Hamburg Inn No. 2 has opened a second location, this time in eastern Iowa City, about a six-minute drive from its original downtown Iowa City location.

Though other restaurants with the Hamburg Inn name had existed in the Iowa City area before — Hamburg Inn No. 1 and Hamburg Inn No. 3 have been closed for decades— only the Hamburg Inn No. 2 at 214 N. Linn St. has been open and running for nearly 70 years under the ownership of the Panther family.

The new Hamburg Inn No. 2 opened officially at 2221 Rochester Ave. on Aug. 21 after a five-day soft opening the week before, front of house manager John Bucklin said Friday. The new Hamburg Inn will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and close bit earlier on Sunday nights.

"Everybody's really glad that we're here, and they're glad that there's a restaurant that people from Iowa City already enjoy and know here," Bucklin said.

Bucklin said that the menu at the new location was "98 percent the same menu as downtown," with only the Philly cheese steak omelet, the steak sandwich and corned beef hash not at the new location. He said those items will likely be added sometime soon to the menu.

One of the advantages of the new space is its location. The new Hamburg is located just across the street from Regina Catholic Education Center and less than a mile away from City High. Bucklin said he's already seen a number of students visit for breakfast.

“I’ve been expecting to be slammed with kids wanting pie shakes, but we haven’t had a ton of kids coming over for shakes after school. I think maybe Regina kids eat well,” Bucklin said with a laugh.

The new location is smaller than the downtown Hamburg Inn with seating for roughly 28 people and a total staff of about 23. It also shares a building with the J&S Express convenience store and BP gas station.

This expansion comes nearly 18 months after Michael Lee purchased the businnes from longtime owner Dave Panther. Lee, born and raised in China, came to Iowa City to study and graduated from the University of Iowa in the late 1960s. Since then, Lee has worked to offer more students the ability to study internationally with Academic Studies Abroad, a Shanghai-based organization that facilitates cultural and educational exchanges with students in China, Taiwan, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. He is currently the CEO of ASA.

The eastern Iowa City Hamburg Inn is just the beginning of Lee's plans to expand the Hamburg Inn name. Lee told the Press-Citizen earlier this year that he has plans to open nearly 30 Hamburg Inn locations across Iowa and other franchise throughout the country. He said that Hamburg Inn's under the name American Presidents' Diner are also in the plans for two of China's biggest cities: Shanghai and Beijing.

Reach Zach Berg at 319-887-5412, zberg@press-citizen.com or follow him on Twitter at @ZacharyBerg.

If you go

What: Hamburg Inn No. 2 new eastern Iowa City location.

Where: 2221 Rochester Ave., Iowa City.

When: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Sunday, with the restaurant closing a bit earlier on Sunday nights.