Salsa Guy Cafe opens with throwback to Alfalfa’s Deli sandwich made by Elijah Wood’s parents

CEDAR RAPIDS — A farmers market vendor known for his signature sauce has opened his brand’s first brick-and-mortar in Cedar Rapids with an eye-catching throwback.

Salsa Guy Cafe opened Aug. 13 on Mount Vernon Road SE, filling a multiyear vacancy at the former site of Sweet Basil’s Pizza, which closed in 2020.

The new carryout restaurant will have plenty of the sauces and burritos that have put owner Tim Palmer on the map for about 20 years. But the new opening — which continues a legacy of restaurant leadership that started decades ago — offers a whole lot more than salsa.

Remember Alfalfa’s Deli? He’s brought back a taste of that, for starters.

The Alfalfa’s Experience

Alfalfa’s Deli was started in the lower level of Lindale Mall in 1978 by Warren and Debra Wood, parents of “Lord of the Rings” movie star Elijah Wood. And in the ‘80s, Tim Palmer was one of their best customers.

After Elijah was discovered by talent scouts, his family moved to California in 1989 to support his rise to international fame through the ‘90s. Alfalfa’s Deli moved to Westdale Mall in 1994 under ownership of Nancy Gates, and later closed.

But the hunger for one of the deli’s signature sandwiches, with a dill spread and alfalfa sprouts, never waned.

“I’ve been making the sandwich for 40 years, never thinking that this was going to happen,” Palmer said. “There are people that come in that are almost teary that (they) get to relive this experience.”

After moving away for college in the 1980s, Palmer reverse engineered the recipe with a friend for their own enjoyment. Now, the dill spread — closely guarded details of which will be in Palmer’s will for his nine children — has been revived on a larger scale to recreate the magic for others. The defunct deli’s trademark for the signature sandwich expired in 2003.

Today, the sandwich is served on 12-grain, whole wheat or cottage white bread with a choice of roast beef, turkey or honey ham and your pick of colby jack, pepper jack, Swiss, provolone or sharp cheddar cheese. Each bite delivers a crisp, refreshing balance of cucumber, red onion, tomato and fresh alfalfa sprouts.

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The rest of the menu

A two-page menu is starting things off simply for the Salsa Guy Cafe, but he has plans to grow over time.

A Conquistador burger offers a half-pound of Angus beef and Prime beef brisket on a bed of pepper jack cheese with Palmer’s cherry bourbon chipotle barbecue sauce. Or, opt for the prime brisket alone on a buttery brioche bun. Both options, in addition to the menu’s pulled pork sandwich, include pickles with a serious kick.

All are served with your choice of fresh house-fried chips or a variety of other brands from the counter.

Burritos include a prime brisket, pork or veggie option, as well as a fleet of all-day breakfast burritos that have earned the Salsa Guy a reputation for a tasty way to start the day at farmers markets.

In the to-go refrigerator by the counter, customers can quickly grab varieties of salads, salsas, barbecue sauces, ranch sauces and guacamole.

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Palmer’s salsa — the product that changed the vendor’s name from Clover Hill Creations to The Salsa Guy — is made in small batches by hand with some “unusual” ingredients, including carrots, three kinds of onions and cayenne pepper.

Eventually, he hopes to add bar stools to the counter to offer a dine-in experience.

How it started

In the early 1980s, Palmer returned home to Cedar Rapids, where he opened a Happy Joe’s Pizza location in Lindale Mall. Within several months, he was a district manager for the brand.

In the 1990s, he ran the busiest U.S. location of A&W at Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. When the Chicago Bears went to the playoffs, his homemade salsa at parties became a hit with friends.

Later, Palmer went into financial and estate planning. Eventually, Cedar Rapids drew him back again.

As he transitioned out of the finance industry, salsa became a side gig that quickly turned into a full-time job — first with Noelridge Farmers Market before starting at the Downtown Cedar Rapids Farmers Market’s inception in 2005.

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Within about 30 minutes of each opening, his salsa would sell out. In 2005, he was tapped to start selling it in Hy-Vee locations across the Corridor.

For the last 17 years, Palmer has leased space in Marion for his business. Now, his life has entered a new stage thanks to couple factors.

At 63, the last of his nine children have moved out. And earlier this year, after a fishing trip to Canada, he contracted Lyme disease — requiring him to make some adjustments to his stress levels.

After decades of slinging salsa on the streets, the customer base he built has supported his permanent location enthusiastically, he said.

“You pour into people and they give back,” Palmer said. “They’re treating me like family.”

That, to him, is what the brand is all about.

“It’s about how you feel when you walk out that door. Did we love on you? Did you feel like you’re making friends with new people?” he said. “I see food as a ministry. Food is a love language all on its own.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.