The Cedar Falls Brown Bottle has had the joy of sharing almost 40 years of laughter, milestones and memories with families and friends throughout the Cedar Valley. As a local, family-owned business, we feel it is a privilege to share in your traditions.
Please feel free to post your favorite Brown Bottle memory or tradition below. Whether it was a proposal, birthday surprise, anniversary or just a great night out, we love to hear your stories!
Ron and Sherry
Our Share the Love contest winners of free anniversary dinners for life.
Oh, where do I begin with my fondness for the Brown Bottle and how special the place is to me and my husband?
12 years ago yesterday Ron and I became engaged. The engagement actually took place along the river across the street from the Brown Bottle. After Ron proposed to me, we went over to the Brown Bottle for dinner and sat at the same table as we sat for our 1st date 2 years earlier. It is the 2-person table on the 1st floor in the fireplace room.
On our first date I ordered the Garlic Chicken Pasta and ate it all! I am surprised between Ron's realization of what a "good" eater I was and the garlic breath for the rest of the night that he actually hung in there with me and asked me to marry him 2 years later. Ron and I also had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding in the lower level. Great evening, food and fun.
For almost every special occasion in the past 12 years, Ron and I chose to eat at the Brown Bottle and often ask to sit at "our" table when the weather is not nice enough to sit outside on the patio. We celebrate many of our birthdays at the Brown Bottle as well...Brad fixes the BEST ice cream drinks for those special occasions for us. Yes, even when we walk in the door a half-hour before closing and ask for ice cream drinks.
Not only is it a very special place for me and Ron but for our youngest daughter as well. Becky worked at the Brown Bottle during her high school years and when she got engaged during college, she chose the Brown Bottle for her rehearsal dinner venue as well. Becky now lives in Missouri but every time that she and her family are back in town they try to make to the Brown Bottle for dinner...or at least a pick up pizza!
The Brown Bottle has also catered several "at home" special events for us....Christmas Eve dinners, birthdays, even the night before Thanksgiving meal last year.
Ron and I have a very special feeling about the Brown Bottle and were saddened to see what the flood of '08 did to the restaurant and the hardship that it placed on the Landaus. But they pulled through and the special feeling that was always there as you walked through the door was never lost.
It must be obvious by now that the Brown Bottle is very special place for us... it was where Ron and I had our 1st date, our engagement dinner, our rehearsal dinner, yearly anniversary celebrations, our daughter's wedding rehearsal dinner and not to skip our favorite spot to simply celebrate with friends.
There would be no greater gift than to receive the honor to CELEBRATE every anniversary in the future with the great folks at the Brown Bottle!
Rebecca and John
We just got married this past October and decided to have the ceremony at my parents' house in Iowa more
Trudy and Bruce
The Brown Bottle was a fairly new establishment when my then-boyfriend took me to dinner there during the winter of 1972 more
Troy and Lisa
My husband, then boyfriend, proposed on August 22, 2005, after dating since June 11, 2004. We sat in the first booth on the main level. We met online but had really known each other since kindergarten.more
Melissa and Eric
5 years ago this August, Eric picked me up for our first date. I had just moved to Cedar Falls from Texas and had not been to many restaurants in the area. So, Eric took me to this place called The Brown Bottle more
Margaret
We actually just celebrated our 44th anniversary at the Brown Bottle on June 4. I suppose we have had an anniversary dinner at another restaurant but I can't remember more
Lori
On our very first date, my husband took me to the Brown Bottle in Cedar Falls. That was Sept 28, 1973. I was a junior in high school! We sat upstairs in the north room at a table by the door. more
Jackie and Jake
December 20, 2009. Sunday. It started out like a regular day on break. My boyfriend Jake was out to breakfast with a friend, and I thought nothing of it. At around 2pm, more
Janice
Twenty years ago I found myself a new widow, and my now-husband David found himself divorced. We had been friends for years and began spending time together. more
Melissa and Dave
Remember the "Billboard Proposal" -yeah that's us! Back on March 19, 1990 my husband called and asked me to meet him for lunch at Casey's Pub on University more
Rocky and Mary Kay
Many years ago, although it seems just like yesterday, a younger couple went on their very first date to The Brown Bottle in Cedar Falls.more
Ian and Keri
I had been dating my fiancee for a year and a half. We were going on vacation in Jamaica in two weeks, and Keri thought .more
Becki
The year was 1962. It was the best of times----and the worst of times. Gasoline was 28 cents a gallon, and cruisin' was in style.more
David
October 29, 1977, just five years after the opening of The Brown Bottle, in the second booth of the front room near the door, I hesitantly proposed to Diane. more
Carrie
Three years before Kevin decided to let me make all of our decisions, he took me out to the Cedar Falls Brown Bottle for our first date. more
Jane
This is definitely our restaurant of choice for Steve{my husband} and I. We were engaged at the Cedar Falls Brown Bottle in May 1982. more
Karen
The Brown Bottle is a special part of our family life. Since it opened, it has been "the place" for my parents to celebrate special anniversaries, events, and birthdays. more
Marilyn
My husband, Bob, and I have celebrated many anniversaries at the Cedar Falls Brown Bottle. more
Ron and Sherry 
Rebecca and John