The Longest Line Seen In Quite A While For A New Quad Cities Restaurant

When restaurants first open, there is a lot of excitement.  The question is, how long will that excitement last?

When new chain restaurants open their first location in the Quad Cities, it can add a bit of buzz.   This one was definitely buzzing with the longest line for an opening day that I've seen in quite some time.

Welcome To The Quad Cities Abelardo's

Abelardo’s started in 2002 in Omaha, Nebraska.  They pride themselves on "vibrant flavors and traditions of Mexican culture". Now, Abelardo's has over 50 regional locations for people to "taste la cultura" throughout the Midwest.

While someone will probably comment on the Facebook post about how people need to support local businesses (which I understand), Abelardo's shows why chain restaurants can work so well when opening the first of a new location.

People already know the brand from their 13 other Iowa locations.  They also have 1 location in Springfield, Illinois. But the locations in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and other Iowa cities are what sparked the buzz about a location here.

Abelardo's Taking Over An Empty Building

Nothing looks worse in a city than empty buildings.  Especially gas stations.  Abelardo's didn't take over a gas station; that was just a side thought.  But Abelardo's took over an empty building at the corner of 53rd and Brady.  It used to be a Burger King.

I had to go back to June of 2021 on Google Maps to see the Burger King sign still on the building.

So for the last 4 years, it's been looking like this.

The Google car recently went by, cause you can see below they were working on it in June of 2025.  Looks way better!

Now they are open and ready to serve you.

The online ordering option is not yet available for the Davenport location, and I couldn't find their hours posted yet.  But you can check out more about the newest location for some tacos in the QC right here.