Anvil Meat Market & Deli announces closure, ending Czech Village tradition

CEDAR RAPIDS — Anvil Meat Market & Deli announced plans to close Thursday on social media, ending a tradition of meat counters at the market’s location for over a century.

Owner Steven Prochaska announced plans to close on social media over last weekend. The shop opened in May 2020.

Prochaska said the business costs of meat price volatility, difficulty finding employees, delivery service fees, not receiving Restaurant Revitalization Fund money and other factors all contributed to the decision.

“When the number got to six different factors, I was at the point where I had to call it,” he said. “It’s better to cauterize the wound than to bleed to death.”

With Anvil’s closing comes the closure of The Sausage Foundry in NewBo City Market, also owned by Prochaska under the same incorporation as Anvil.

The address housing Anvil, 92 16th Ave. SW in the Czech Village, has been home to some type of butcher shop for more than130 years, according to Prochaska. Before Anvil, it was Pohlena’s Meat Market from 2008 to 2019.

Prochaska’s great-grandfather, Jerry Prochaska, worked at one of the predecessor meat shops. His great-grandson brought many of their classic recipes in Anvil.

Even at the height of the pandemic when Anvil opened, the owner had optimism for the future, telling The Gazette he planned to be there for “the next 25 or 30 years.”

“You’ve got to set those long-term goals. And who knows, if it takes off, maybe we’ll franchise,” he said last year.

In addition to classic meats and Czech specialties, the shop offered a variety of sandwiches to eat in or for carryout.

“It worked out pretty well, for a long time,” Steven told The Gazette on Monday. “I’m going to find something different to do with my life.”

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