The Ox Yoke Innterstate restaurant at the I-80/US 151 interchange has closed, reports the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The original in the Amana Colonies will remain open. Business likely suffered after the Wasserbahn water park across the street closed in June.
Note that in the Gazette’s file photo, the motel behind the restaurant had been a Days Inn but recently closed. It then became an Econo Lodge but has been abandoned for years. (The hotel with the Wasserbahn started out as a Holiday Inn before becoming a Clarion.)
The closing reflects the decline of the “Little Amana” area. Just as the Amana Society purchased the town of Homestead to have access to the railroad in the mid-19th century, Little Amana sprung up to be by the interstate travelers of the mid- and late 20th century. But tourism revenue in the Amanas fell 25% between 2000 and 2006. There are more things competing for visitors’ dollars now, when visitors can afford to go somewhere.