Salsa Guy Café reveals second location in northeast Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Where’s the beef? At Salsa Guy Café’s new location.

Soon, diners will be able to order the popular restaurant’s burgers, Alfalfa’s Deli throwback sandwich and more at its much anticipated second location — revealed this week to The Gazette.

Less than a year after opening his first brick-and-mortar on Mount Vernon Rd. SE, owner Tim Palmer is planning his second location at 3925 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE. The building, a former Wendy’s near the Hiawatha border, will see new life for the first time in four years.

Palmer tentatively hopes to have the new location, currently under renovation, open by Labor Day.

“My customers, if they’ve done one thing, is they’ve illustrated the demand for our concept,” Palmer said. “This location is what I’d call the sweet spot.”

The new, fast-casual location will offer a dining area with plenty of seating, a drive-thru, alcoholic beverages and a few new menu items.

Customers will soon be able to enjoy a margarita, sangria, beer or wine with their chips and salsa. Palmer plans to incorporate a unique “small pour” option, perfect for a weekday lunch or light dinner.

“I want you to leave happy, not drunk,” he said.

The location’s menu will feature the return of his famous breakfast burritos, as well as the classics that have accelerated the business’ growth at its first location, like the “Alfalfa’s Experience” sandwich.

The signature dill spread sandwich was reverse engineered by Palmer to recreate a classic that diners enjoyed at Alfalfa’s Deli at Lindale Mall in the 1980s and ‘90s. Its original creators, Warren and Debra Wood, are the parents of “Lord of the Rings” movie star and Cedar Rapids native Elijah Wood.

  Buy Photo

After coming in second place for the Iowa’s Best Burger contest by the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Palmer also anticipates growth in Salsa Guy Café’s burger menu. The restaurant, then only about six months old, earned its spot in the competition through a write-in campaign.

Business hours will expand to open Monday through Saturday, and a newly-launched app will complement the new drive-thru for quick to-go orders. Salsa Guy Café also launched delivery through DoorDash last week, which Palmer said has doubled the restaurant’s order volume.

Not everything at Salsa Guy Café is spicy, but the restaurant’s growth trajectory is on fire.

After 19 years of building his brand’s following with burritos, salsa and sandwiches at the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market, Palmer opened his first permanent location at 2875 Mount Vernon Rd. SE in August 2024. But with a very small space in the former Sweet Basil’s Pizza, Salsa Guy Café has quickly outgrown the location’s limitations with parking and interior space.

Recommended Reading

This new restaurant has the Alfalfa’s Deli sandwich made famous by Elijah Wood’s parents.

He credits his enthusiastic following to the basics — good food, good staff and a clean restaurant.

“If you cover all those bases and rise to the level of excellence, people reward that,” Palmer said. “In spite of all the limitations we have at that little café, our customers come in and they graciously put up with them.”

Its new location, chosen for its proximity to high traffic counts and projected growth, may compound the brand’s development even more. The restaurant was selected after another deal for redevelopment at the site fell through.

When property owner Marshall Petersen took an inquiry call from Palmer earlier this year, he was eating Salsa Guy Café’s chips and salsa at his kitchen table — an instance Palmer called a “God wink” moment.

“The location is perfectly positioned to be part of all the growth that’s about to happen here,” Palmer said. “I can’t go to a map and put my finger on a better location than this restaurant.”

The restaurant’s original location on Mount Vernon Road will remain open.

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

Get the latest restaurant news, food reviews and insider tips from the Chew on This newsletter.