BETTENDORF, IOWA (October 17, 2023) — One of the Quad Cities' landmark restaurant couples, Ron and Cynthia Freidhof, will be retiring after over fifty years of running Ross’ Restaurant in Bettendorf. They will also be listing the Bettendorf property, located at 2297 Falcon Avenue in Bettendorf, for sale on October 17. Alex Kelly, NAI Ruhl Commercial Company (licensed in Iowa and Illinois), will be assisting the Freidhof family. In tandem with the sale of the current location, the Freidhof family will retain the business and be searching for a smaller restaurant space to reopen with new management to continue the Ross’ generational legacy of providing quality home-cooked food to the local community, travelers, and presidential candidates.
The 85-year-old restaurant, founded by Cynthia’s father, Harold Ross, in 1938, relocated to the Falcon Avenue location in 2015, after selling its downtown property to the Iowa Department of Transportation, due to eminent domain and the restaurant being directly in the path of the I-74 bridge construction.
Owner Ron Freidhof said, “Losing the downtown property to eminent domain and the subsequent move was quite difficult for us, both as a family and business. A big part of our hearts were left behind at the downtown location.” After the forced move, Ross’ was faced with many challenges, including the changed business climate of the pandemic, supply issues, rising food costs, and staffing shortages. According to Freidhof, “My wife and I have realized that when you love what you do, there is never a perfect time to step away. But we aren’t getting any younger and we have realized that life is short.” Freidhof added, “After fifty incredible and memorable years in the restaurant business, my wife and I are ready to travel, enjoy our retirement, and [spend] more time with our grandchildren.”
Ross’ has been one of the most notable spots for visitors to the Quad Cities, with its long history of celebrity visitors and presidential candidates during the Iowa Primaries. Among the most memorable visitors was former President Barack Obama, who made a surprise stop to Ross’ in June 2011.
However, according to Owner Cynthia Ross-Freidhof, the most important visitors have been the many generations of Quad Citizens served. “It has been a tremendous privilege to serve the greater Quad City Community for most of our lives, I would like to express our sincere gratitude and thank all of our customers for their support throughout the years. From serving hungry customers during their late-night stops, to seeing the same families weekly for breakfast after church on Sundays, we truly have had the best customers in the world, they are like our extended family, and we will miss them all dearly,” she said.
