CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Emmanuel Taylor is among the many loyal customers who will miss stopping in at the original location of the Salsa Guy Cafe.
“I like the quaintness of it,” Taylor said, while picking up lunch on one of the cafe’s final days at 2874 Mt. Vernon Road SE, not far from where Taylor works. “They have really great food and it’s all about small businesses. The little hole in the walls are my favorites.”
Taylor and other fans will have a longer trip to find the burritos, burgers, gyros and other mainstays when the Salsa Guy Cafe closes its Mount Vernon Road location at the end of the day on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
After opening that first location less than two years ago, the cafe opened its second site in September 2025 at a former Wendy’s restaurant at 3925 Blairs Ferry Road NE, which remains open.
A sign at the Salsa Guy Cafe notes the location’s final day. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
But some customers, like Taylor, said the closing will leave a void on Mount Vernon Road for a local, non-chain, restaurant.
Manager Justin Gesling understands.
“I know most of them by name,” Gesling said of the customers who regularly frequent the Salsa Guy Cafe.
Many live or work nearby, he said, and will miss the cozy cafe, with seating for just a dozen or so people.
“We’ve just outgrown it,” Gesling said of the location, built as a home in the 1940s before becoming a commercial site on the busy thoroughfare.
That contrasts with seating for at least 65 people at the Blairs Ferry Road site, and more is on the way.
A variety of salsa is among the top sellers at the Salsa Guy Cafe. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Owner Tim Palmer, who began his salsa business at Cedar Rapids farmers markets decades ago, has announced more than one new location is forthcoming.
One will be in Johnson County, but specifics have not yet been announced.
In the meantime, the Mount Vernon Road location will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25.
Gesling said although they’re closing, they plan to keep the site stocked for those final customers, including all the fixings for its No. 1 seller: the Alfalfa’s Experience.
The Alfalfa’s Experience is the top seller at the Salsa Guy Cafe in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
With a choice of meat, cheese and veggies on a variety of bread, the sandwich is a throwback to a popular feature at Alfalfa’s Deli — a 1980’s era Cedar Rapids hot spot — with alfalfa sprouts and a special dill spread.
The salsa, sold by the container, is also a top seller, Gesling said.
“It’s crazy to think this little spot has fueled so much,” he said, citing Palmer as the driving force for its success. “Tim is an amazing owner. That personality you see doesn’t change. That’s who he is.”
See final photos of the Cedar Rapids Maid-Rite and more from the Salsa Guy Cafe, below:
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