The Best Between Bread-Iowa’s Sandwich Masters: Locale 45, Decatur City

Decatur City, IA: Decatur County

It’s that old story that you’ve heard so many times before. You see a diner you’re partial to in Ellsworth, Kansas, and you decide to buy it, load it on a huge trailer and reopen it in rural Iowa. Yup….That story was a first for us too. While cruising Route 2, we motored into Decatur City because the Dinky Diner caught our eye immediately.

AC57FFDD-BC97-42D3-88B5-AF9EB1EEBBFC-5206-000005B4484669CE — The red and white siding pop out to any traveler passing by. We knew it was a unique Iowa destination we had to stop at. 104 NE 4th Street, Decatur City.

We’ve stumbled on so many roadside experiences in our travels throughout Iowa. On this trip, we were doing a feature on Leon, IA. Very similar to our discoveries of Donutland in Cedar Rapids, The Ladora Bank Bistro in Ladora, and the historic Reed-Niland Corner in Colo. We pulled up and peered inside and knew we made the right decision to stop.

The late Jacky Kuster. The original owner and visionary of Decatur City’s Dink Diner.

The dining room had an authentic 1950’s feel to it and made this rural restaurant feel that much more unique.

Tricia Kuster was serving the customers on the Saturday afternoon we stopped into the Dinky Diner. Her late great-grandmother, Jacky Kuster, was the original owner of the Dinky Diner and literally brought it to Decatur City from Kansas. Her menu is still pumping out great food since it opened its nostalgic doors in 2005. A full breakfast menu with fresh homemade cinnamon rolls, classic sandwiches, and dinner selections with daily specials. Not to mention fresh pies and the traditional giant sized Iowa Pork Tenderloin. You know you’re still searching for the best tenderloin of your life, so maybe the Dinky has it. Decatur City….ROAD TRIP!

This is your classic double bacon cheeseburger done perfectly and it charged right into our Best Between Bread search and could end up pulling in a championship for Decatur City in December. Juicy, cheesy, hot and absolutely mouthwatering. That’s always enough for an all American road trip.

Be sure to read about the other Best Between Bread contenders in the communities of….

Algona, Amana, Bettendorf, Brooklyn, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Center Point, Charles City, Cherokee, Clear Lake, Conesville, Coralville, Crawfordsville, Cresco, Creston, Decatur City, Decorah, Dubuque, Eldridge, Elkader, Ely, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Gunder, Hale, Hiawatha, Hills, Humboldt, Indianola, Iowa City, Keokuk, Lake View, Lansing, Long Grove, Marion, Marshalltown, Montrose, New Albin, Nichols, North Liberty, Oakland Mills, Okoboji, Orange City, Paullina, Pocahontas, Robins, Rowley, Sheldon, Shueyville, Sigourney, Spencer, Storm Lake, Sutliff, Tiffin, Vinton, Walcott, Waterloo, Waukon, Waverly, Webster City, West Branch and Wilton!