A Little Birdie Told Me About a Bistro

May 12, 2026

By April Pearson

Hatching a Plan

“Our philosophy is that if you have good food, good service and fair prices, people will come, and that’s something we pride ourselves on,” says Chef Thierry Reverse, who owns Birdie’s Bistro in Dubuque with his wife, Amy Reverse. 

After graduating from Luther College, Amy went into restaurant management and developed training programs for several high-profile restaurants in Alabama and Florida. Thierry attended culinary arts school in Europe, then went on to manage kitchens for mom-and-pop shops, large casinos and giant resorts in Mississippi and Florida. Amy and Thierry met while working at different restaurants in Florida — but that’s not where their culinary adventures began. 

After decades of working for other people, the lovebirds wanted to spread their wings. Thierry says, “We’d both been working in the industry for a long time, and one day we just sat down and said, ‘You know what? Why don't we give our own place a shot?’” By then, the two were in their mid-40s and decided that if they were going to branch out, they needed to do it sooner rather than later. 

The choice to move to Iowa was an easy one. Not only was Iowa much more affordable than Florida for opening a new business, but it also had the draw of family. Amy says, “I grew up in Cascade, my mom and stepdad are here in Dubuque, and I have three siblings who all live in Iowa.” So, they sold everything they owned, migrated to Iowa and found the perfect place in Dubuque to open Birdie’s Bistro — a name that — like Iowa — has family ties. Amy says, “’Birdie’ was my nickname when I was younger because I was a trained singer. I went to college on a vocal scholarship, and my family called me their little songbird, or just Birdie.”

How did Thierry feel about landing up North after a lifetime of living in other places? “I love Iowa,” he says. “I was born in Belgium and spent the first 12 years of my life there. Then we immigrated to the United States, and I lived down South pretty much all my life. But I love Iowa. I love the four seasons. I'm like a kid looking out the window when the snow starts falling.”

Elevating Flavor

Light, bright, open and airy, Birdie’s Bistro went from a dilapidated storefront to a charming farmhouse-style restaurant. Amy and Thierry remodeled, repainted and rejuvenated the space, which has an extra dining room for overflow. Often, even the overflow needs overflow. “On Sundays, we have a wait list from the time we open at 8:00 until about 1:30,” says Thierry, “so we use the extra dining room way more than we ever expected it to. It’s a good problem to have.” 

What has customers flocking to Birdie’s Bistro? 

Nearly all their ingredients come from within 200 miles of Dubuque. They get dairy from Wisconsin, meat from Minnesota and produce from Iowa. “Really, the only time we have to source outside of this area is during the winter season, when we can’t get local strawberries and tomatoes and things like that,” says Thierry. 

During the growing season, Birdie’s Bistro has a distinct advantage. It’s located on Iowa Street, which is in the heart of the Dubuque farmers’ market. Thierry says, “For six months out of the year, the farmers’ market runs directly in front of our building. So, we'll go out and buy produce from the stands out there.” Despite its focus on sourcing local ingredients, Birdie’s maintains a very economical menu, including both a low-cost senior menu and a kids menu. 

As a destination breakfast bistro in Eastern Iowa, Birdie’s goes through 81,000 eggs per year! Popular egg dishes include the traditional egg breakfast with bacon or sausage and toast; the build-your-own-omelet with your choice of meat, cheese and veggies; and eggs benedict with poached eggs, grilled ham, a toasted English muffin and hollandaise sauce. 

“We do some crazy stuff that nobody else does,” says Thierry. “We have a breakfast chimichanga, which is basically a burrito filled with peppers, onions, meat and eggs. And then we deep-fry it and pour sausage gravy all over it. So that one's a little bit wild. We also have a cheesesteak bowl with shaved ribeye, onions, mushrooms, chipotle sauce and eggs. We have a pretty diverse menu with quite a few original dishes.” 

On the sweeter side of breakfast, Birdies offers French toast, Belgian waffles and pancakes — all served with house-made honey-orange butter and powdered sugar. 

For lunch, Birdie’s offers a variety of soups and salads, such as the tomato basil bisque and blackened chicken Caesar — as well as sandwiches, like the monster club, all-American burger and Mississippi pot roast sandwich. For dessert, there’s a homemade bread pudding that’s finished with white chocolate sauce.

BIRDIE’S EGGS: Birdie’s Bistro goes through 81,000 eggs per year! And 99% of them come from Iowa. 

Flying in Formation
Beyond being a member of the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce, Birdie’s Bistro contributes to the region in countless ways. Two days a year, they donate 10% of sales to the Foundation for Dubuque Public Schools. They sponsor Dubuque Dances with the Stars, in which seven local celebrities compete to raise funds for nonprofits. And they almost always say “yes” when a neighborhood organization asks for help. “We do a lot of donations for community groups,” says Amy. “They support us, so we try to support them as well.” 

From day one, Dubuque has welcomed Birdie’s Bistro into the community. “When we first started, everyone was so helpful — the vendors, other local businesses, city officials — and it seemed like they would go out of their way to get an answer for us or help us get something done,” says Amy. “Especially compared to our experiences in Florida, it was so nice to have that guidance as we were getting the business going.” 

Thierry agrees, “The community has been there for us from the very beginning, and it’s still there for us. The guy who put the signs on our front door still comes here to eat. We host the City Hall holiday party every year. We barely have an advertising budget because our customers spread the word for us. When our health inspector comes by to eat, he brings his entire department with him.” Is there any better endorsement than the health inspector frequenting one’s restaurant? “That's a good feeling,” says Thierry. “It’s like a gold star.”

Circling Back

After experiencing the ins and outs of running other people’s restaurants, Amy and Thierry Reverse built something entirely their own — a bistro dedicated to providing good food and being a good neighbor. And their insistence upon serving up only the freshest, tastiest ingredients at a fair price has kept their customers singing their praises.