The Early Bird

Cedar Rapids, United States

4.1

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 319-261-4901
Website:
www.theearlybirdcr.com
Address:
316 2nd St SE, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52401
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.6 miCedar Rapids Freight Depot
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
Yes
Good For
Breakfast
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Noise Level
Quiet
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
No
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes
Good for Working
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Cedar Rapids) 12:32 AM Saturday, May 31, 2025

Business hours

Monday 6:30 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 6:30 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 6:30 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 6:30 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 6:30 am – 2:00 pm
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We are an eclectic coffee shop in downtown Cedar Rapids that offers a unique atmosphere with bright colors, large windows and a variety of seating options. We serve Intelligentsia coffees, espresso and organic teas, all roasted fresh every two weeks. We offer made-​to-​order hot breakfast sandwiches, pastries, bagels and fresh-​made yogurt parfaits. The lunch menu is simple, with fresh vegetables and breads all made to order. Sandwiches can be served cold or panini-​style, and our salads are also fresh chopped to order. Two soups are offered daily and are posted on our Facebook Page.

The Early Bird caters locally for business breakfasts or luncheons. Custom catering is also available for your special event. Thank you for taking the time to learn about us!

History

Established in 2011.

Top Chickadee Brooke Fitzgerald opened The Early Bird in November 2011 in downtown Cedar Rapids. Fitzgerald wanted to create a unique space in the post-​flood downtown district that offered different lunch and breakfast items not found elsewhere. Her eclectic style and use of bright colors makes the shop a cheerful place to meet friends and family as well as clients for coffee and a chat.

Meet the Business Owner

Brooke F.

Business Owner

Brooke is from the Eastern Iowa area, and has lived in Cedar Rapids for 12+ years after graduating from Mount Mercy University. Go Mustangs! Her past careers have been Food & Banquet Manager at WildCat Golf Course, Culinary Manager at Olive Garden, and 7 years with Wells Fargo in Commercial Banking and Mortgage Lending roles. She and her husband, Andy, live in Cedar Rapids, with their son, Connor. Brooke enjoys family activities, reading, running, golfing, playing cards, cooking and craft projects. Her dream to own her own business someday has come true, and she appreciates all of her clients who visit The Early Bird!

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20 reviews of The Early Bird

No registration required
Place rating: 2
Cedar Rapids, IA
The sandwiches were expensive and kinda boring. The staff seemed irritated that I wanted to put in a special request and make something vegetarian. The coffee was good though, so I’ll give um that one.
Place rating: 4
Coralville, IA
Tried this little spot on an afternoon when I got out early but needed a little caffeine. Aside from the entrance being tucked back a bit and requiring you to enter through a couple of doors inside the building, this place is doing some good stuff.
With both the desire for caffeine and the rumblies in my tummy, I wasn’t looking for anything super specific. Coffee wise they have plenty of good options including drip and espresso. They carry Intelligentsia coffee, which to many is a fairly big deal. I still can’t get into organic coffee so it didn’t make a huge difference to me. The drip options where a decaf, a dark roast and a blonde roast. All were fine. An added plus here is they have a Unilocal deal for a free cup of coffee or a scotcheroo when you check in for the first time. Yay for deals! Beverages ran between 2 and $ 4 with enough options to keep anyone busy.
The food options we’re actually pretty good for this relatively small shop. $ 4 and there was 5 or 6 different options. I had a yogurt parfait which was standard, but filled me up. The baked goods — scones, muffins, etc, all looked good as well.
Overall size of the shop was not huge, but there were probably 20 seats for people. It’s comparable in size to many of the other places in the area.
End of the day, this is another good option for caffeinated water in the downtown area and aside from the entrance being different than expected, it’s well worth checking out.
Place rating: 3
Iowa City, IA
I decided to grab a coffee in Cedar Rapids for my drive from Iowa City to Minneapolis for the weekend and upon seeing that they serve Intelligentsia Coffee, I chose Early Bird Coffee.
First a couple random factoids…
They’re located in a fun urban part of Cedar Rapids, on the ground floor of a Rockwell Collins office building, and street parking is metered at only $ 1 per hour.
Now for the drinks…
I ordered an Americano because when you’re dealing with great espresso beans (woot! Intelligentsia!), there’s nothing quite as delicious and energizing as a double shot Americano. But my Americano, one of the easier drinks a barista is faced with, was botched by the woman working the espresso machine. She filled my tumbler with water, then pulled the espresso shots and dumped them into my water-​filled tumbler. It shouldn’t take extensive barista training to know that adding a shot of espresso after the water isn’t the right approach… you know, laws of physics and diffusion. Naturally she had filled the tumbler too full with water, so she couldn’t pour the second shot in and I was served my watery single espresso shot with a spare shot of espresso on the side. But, silver lining, that shot of espresso on the side was superb. Thank you Intelligentsia for saving the day!
And my eats…
I ordered a hot breakfast sammie, vegetarian style. It wasn’t anything spectacular but was a tasty option for a light breakfast on the go.
Place rating: 4
Bloomington, IL
This place is a hidden gem! They serve breakfast, lunch and coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker but breakfast was excellent and very inexpensive!
Place rating: 2
Iowa City, IA
Came across this place by accident since the place we wanted to go a few blocks away ended up being closed. Saw this on Unilocal,saw that we could get a free coffee or dessert with a check in, and decided to check it out. The paninis looked pretty good on the reviews anyway.
Walked into the place and was hesitant to stay, but we had already walked in, so no turning back. We wanted to find a lunch place, and this was more of a coffeeshop (they do sell intelligentsia coffee which I know some people love) that sells some paninis and wraps. I ordered a pick two — half a pesto chicken wrap and a cup of soup (creamy mushroom was the soup of the day). First, they said that they don’t do half wraps, so they turned it into half a panini which was fine. The portions turned out quite small. The panini didn’t have much taste, finished it in a few bites. The soup they said was homemade, vegetarian, and gluten free. Not really something I get excited to hear since I’m not vegetarian and nor gluten free. It was a pretty bland soup with just mushrooms in it, and wasn’t particularly creamy… More watery. The free dessert I got was either a scotcharoo or scone, and the scone actually turned out to taste pretty decent. So that was a plus.
When you order a full sandwich (the rest of the people I ate with got a full sandwich), you get chips or a piece of fruit on the side. The bag of chips was a rather large bag of kettle chips (of various Flavors)… Kettle chips. Definitely a plus on my end. But all in all, it wasn’t anything too fancy, and I’d probably only come here if I wanted some good coffee (since I heard intelligentsia was pretty good)…
Place rating: 5
Marion, IA
Had a chai here, and was pleasantly surprised. I admit to have fallen in love with the Starbucks chai latte, and I’ve been skeptic to try someone’s chai after a horrible experience with Coffeesmiths not too long ago. Loved the experience here and when I learned it was family owned, they had me at hello.
Place rating: 2
Cedar Rapids, IA
While the owners were friendly and excited to see their regular customers, they were rather curt and dismissive of me and my partner when we were dining there.
The Tomato Mozzarella Panini was bland, tasteless crap. The Chicken Pesto Wrap was just okay. It seems the effort is placed into the charming décor rather than the food. If anyone had bothered to see how we were doing after the food arrived, I would have let them know. Sadly, no one cared. That’s fine, we won’t be returning anytime soon.
Place rating: 5
Cedar Rapids, IA
This place is fantastic! I love the décor and the selection of coffee.
The owners and staff are always friendly and happy to see you. The food is teriffic, and it never takes too long to get an order!
Place rating: 4
Saint Simons Island, GA
Good coffee, nice sandwich, and delicious soup for a reasonable price. Also a lovely place to hang out a work for a little while. Although, as I was working, an capella group wandered in to sing. That was a little distracting!
Place rating: 5
Cedar Rapids, IA
The first and the best coffee shop I found downtown Cedar Rapids which actually the first floor of my office. Like the coffee, breakfast, lunch, and the service
Place rating: 5
Bettendorf, IA
Great little local find. Cute cute place. Strong coffee and homemade smoothies. They can add spinach to any of them. They serve lunch too.
Place rating: 5
Cedar Rapids, IA
Start your day off with their Intelligentsia coffee and breakfast while keeping up with the downtowns favorite people. Plenty if seating for a morning meeting or lunch chat. A friend of mine had her bridal shower there and they make lovely gift baskets.
Place rating: 5
Hudson, WI
Excellent coffee, best scones I have ever had, great atmosphere and fabulous friendly service. Great job guys!
Place rating: 5
Cedar Rapids, IA
They serve Intelligentsia coffee which is wonderful. Have the Italian panini for lunch it’s the best. Also the staff is friendly and always in a good mood! Bottom line it’s a great place to visit :)
Place rating: 4
Cedar Rapids, IA
This place is like a Pinterest board in real life. The ambiance is warm and welcoming. The drinks are good. Unfortunately the panini don’t seem to be served in full size panini bread. Also it is hard to spot the place when walking around the area.
Place rating: 5
Savannah, GA
A great place to relax! The staff is amazing and they know who you are on your second visit. The coffee is the best in town and not expensive. The lunch menu is small and mighty and always tasty. Try the Turkey Avacado if you don’t believe me.
Place rating: 5
Sausalito, CA
Looking for a coffee shop that isn’t the same old look with wooden floors and dimly lit corners? Then check this place out! The space and bright and airy with a wall of windows and a soothing color scheme that invites you to stay for breakfast (pastries, fruit, yogurt, english muffin sandwiches) or lunch (soups, salads, wraps, sandwiches) in any one of their several seating areas. The only place you will find Intelligentsia coffee in Cedar Rapids, and yes, you CAN tell a difference in the flavor of the beans. Added bonus is a friendly staff that actually remembers you on your next visit!
Place rating: 3
Prague, Czech Republic
Cute, cute, cute.
Hands down one of the cutest places, if not the cutest, in Downtown Cedar Rapids. The service was okay, my wrap was fine but expensive for the size/​ingredients. I do like that they have very nice fresh fruit as a side option instead of just chips. I would try them again. Soup is at an awesome price, $ 3.00/cup and $ 3.70 for a bowl!
Place rating: 4
Cedar Rapids, IA
Serving Intelligentsia coffee — some of the best in the world!
Nicely toasted bagel as a perfect accompaniment for a latte.
Must visit…
Place rating: 4
Philadelphia, PA
One of 2 places in the corridor that I know of that serves Intelligensia. The place has great service, and being new, their menu is expanding. I’ve not tried the cupcakes that they also have. My only issue is probably the entry sequence to the shop… is convoluted… no bad takes on everything else.