A LeClaire business recently received a top hospitality award from the Iowa Tourism Office.
The Crane & Pelican Café, 127 S. 2nd St., was named the Outstanding Dining Business in the rural category. The award was announced at the 2022 Iowa Tourism Conference.
“It is an honor to be recognized by Travel Iowa as a successful dining business,” owner Mandy Harvey told the QCBJ.
“The last two years have brought many challenges, but the Crane & Pelican has been blessed to have a great staff of industry leaders to help weather these storms,” said Ms. Harvey, who founded the restaurant in 2009 in a historic river captain’s house overlooking the Mississippi River. “They deserve all of the credit and I’m grateful for all they continue to do to make the Crane & Pelican a dining experience that is second to none.”
The restaurant, located in the Dawley House, circa 1851, describes its menu as classy comfort food made from scratch each day. The building is listed on the National Historic Registry.
“It’s like winning the Oscars of Iowa restaurants,” Ms. Harvey wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The Iowa Tourism Office presented 26 awards in late April recognizing excellence in the tourism industry at a ceremony in Des Moines.
“Iowa tourism realized a great recovery since last summer,” said Amy Zeiger, state tourism manager for the Iowa Tourism Office. “That’s in large part to the innovative work from our partners. We’re excited to celebrate their accomplishments and the industry’s momentum with these awards.”
Here are the award winners:
- Outstanding Attraction: National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Dubuque (Metro); Luna Valley Farm, Decorah (Rural).
- Outstanding Community: Fort Madison (Metro); Balltown (Rural).
- Outstanding Dining Business: The Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, Le Mars (Metro); Crane & Pelican Café, Le Claire (Rural).
- Outstanding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative: Yummi Blox, Sioux City (Metro); Driftless Yoga Festival, Decorah (Rural).
- Outstanding Event: Dew Tour, Des Moines (Metro); Beyond the Game Festival, Dyersville (Rural).
- Outstanding Individual Leader: The Bertch Family, Waterloo (Metro); Jill Vandevoort, Pella (Rural).
- Outstanding Lodging Property: Kingsley Inn, Fort Madison (Metro); New Day Dairy Guest Barn, Clarksville (Rural).
- Outstanding Marketing Collaboration: Keokuk Area Convention & Tourism Bureau, Kingsley Inn and Nauvoo Tourism Office (Metro); City of Sioux Center and Sioux Center Chamber of Commerce (Rural).
- Outstanding Niche Market Initiative: My County Parks (Metro); Turkey River Recreational Corridor (Rural).
- Outstanding Promotional Material: Travel Dubuque (Metro); Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau (Rural).
- Outstanding Retail Experience: Deal’s Orchard, Jefferson (Rural).
- Outstanding Social Media Execution: Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau (Metro); Emerge Marketing Solutions, Manning (Rural).
- Outstanding Website: Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau (Metro); Adams Community Economic Development Corporation, Corning (Rural).
- People’s Choice Award: The Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, Le Mars.
