Restaurants in Iowa
Your town's orders, your margin, no app commission.
Iowa is weighing a food-platform pricing disclosure bill. Meanwhile, direct ordering, catering and texts to regulars keep margin home.
- 5,367restaurants in Iowa
- 2,459sit-down (full-service)
- 17restaurants per 10,000 people
- #43of 51 by number of restaurants
What Iowa owners are up against
The pressures, and how we take them off you.
- 1
Delivery apps take 15-30%
DoorDash's US plans charge 15%, 25% or 30% per delivered order. Orders on your own site keep that margin in the restaurant.
Source · 2026-11
- 2
Costs up, sales growth slow
The National Restaurant Association's economist says food and labour costs rose 'pretty significantly'; 2026 industry sales growth is projected at only 1.3%.
Source · 2026-02
- 3
Servers earn $4.35 cash
Iowa's tipped cash wage is $4.35, so servers' pay rides on covers. Filling slow hours with offers keeps good staff earning and staying.
Source · 2026-11-05
Lead with:Online orderingOffers, rewards & campaignsMaya, the AI phone hostPurchasing
Law watch
What’s changing for Iowa restaurants.
H 2047 (2026) pricing disclosure for lodging, ticketing and food platforms
Pending bill; would add price disclosure duties for food platforms.
Federal 'No Tax on Tips' deduction (One Big Beautiful Bill Act)
Tipped staff can deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips from federal income tax for 2025-2028; a recruiting talking point, not a cost change.
From 2025-01-01 · Source
Wages in 2026
Minimum wage $7.25; tipped minimum $4.35. Maya answering the phone frees paid hours for cooking and serving.
For information only, not legal advice. Check the source for your city.
Does WhatsTable work for restaurants in Iowa?
Yes. WhatsTable works for any restaurant on Clover, in any cuisine, anywhere in Iowa. We set it up with you on a call.
What is the minimum wage for restaurant staff in Iowa in 2026?
The state minimum wage is $7.25 and the tipped minimum is $4.35. Some cities set higher rates. Check the official source for your city.
What does it cost?
There is no monthly fee, no setup fee and no contract. WhatsTable takes 5–10% of the sales that come through it. Walk-in sales cost you nothing.
Restaurant owners in Iowa are represented by Iowa Restaurant Association.
You cook. We’ll bring the orders, in Iowa.
We take care of marketing and sales, so you can take care of the kitchen and good food. 20 minutes on a call.
$0 a month · No setup fee · No contract · Nothing added to your guests' bill