A northeast Iowa family has lost their restaurant to a fire for the second time in less than a year. Breitbach’s Country Dinning in Balltown in rural Dubuque County burned to the ground overnight.
Firefighters were call to the restaurant at about 3:30 A.M. No one was in the building and the cause of the fire has not been determined. Breitbach’s was destroyed on Christmas Ever of last year by a fire. It had been a landmark restaurant, and the oldest in Iowa, dating back to the 1850’s when it operated as a stagecoach stop.
Volunteers helped rebuild Breitbach’s and it re-opened in June after the first fire. The owners have not yet indicated if they will rebuild again.