Canteen Lunch in the Alley is a restaurant located in Ottumwa, Iowa. The original five-stool Canteen Lunch was opened in 1927 in a different location, and moved to its current address in 1936. The “Canteen Lunch” was originally established in 1927. In 1936, the business relocated to its present location under the second street parking ramp in Ottumwa, Iowa. It has since been a local institution known for its loose-meat sandwiches and homemade pies. The restaurant's design is a horseshoe-shaped counter-top surrounded by 16 stools. It remains an example of an early to mid-20th-century lunchroom. The Canteen Lunch reflects on this type of eating establishment that gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s as social and economic challenges were felt by the Great Depression.