By Hola Iowa
Cerro Grande Meat Market plans to open in July at 2517 Hubbell Ave., bringing Mexican and Latino specialty cuts, ready-to-cook foods, more than 42 varieties of sausage and a Mexican-style ice cream shop to Des Moines.
A family trade that began in Mexico more than a century ago is getting a new home in Des Moines.
Cerro Grande Meat Market is expected to open this summer with products that shoppers may not find at a typical grocery store meat counter, including marinated fajita meat, specialty carnicería cuts and a rotating selection of house-made sausages.
Co-owner Jose Lopez is a fourth-generation butcher. His great-grandfather operated a meat counter in Mexico in the early 1900s, and the craft later passed through Lopez’s grandfather, grandmother and father, Ramon Lopez.
The family is rebuilding after a fire in Ottumwa
Jose Lopez and his father previously operated a butcher shop in Ottumwa.
A fire destroyed the business in July 2025 after a piece of equipment short-circuited. Rather than reopen in the same location, the family decided to rebuild the business in Des Moines.
The new market will continue a family tradition built around preparing meat, serving customers directly and offering cuts tied to Mexican and Latino cooking.
Cerro Grande Meat Market will also expand the family’s product selection with ready-to-cook foods for customers who want meals that require less preparation at home.
More than 42 sausage varieties are planned
Sausage will be one of the market’s signature products.
Lopez plans to offer more than 42 varieties, ranging from familiar breakfast links and garlic sausage to less traditional combinations, including a cordial cherry-and-chocolate sausage.
Some flavors will rotate with the seasons, giving customers different options throughout the year.
The market will also carry marinated fajita meat and core Latino carnicería cuts. Its meat will come from distributors offering USDA Choice and Prime products.
The market aims to feel like a neighborhood butcher shop
Lopez has also drawn inspiration from European butcher shops, where meat markets often serve as neighborhood stops and display their products with close attention to presentation.
Cerro Grande Meat Market plans to bring that approach to Des Moines while focusing on cuts, flavors and preparations familiar to Mexican and Latino families.
The new business will give customers another local option for specialty meats and foods prepared for cooking at home.
A Mexican-style ice cream shop will open in the same building
The Hubbell Avenue location will house another family business.
Ariana Lopez, Jose Lopez’s sister, plans to open a Mexican-style ice cream shop inside the same building.
The two businesses will share the location, bringing a meat market and an ice cream shop together under one roof.
Cerro Grande Meat Market expects to open in July
Cerro Grande Meat Market plans to open in July at 2517 Hubbell Ave. in Des Moines.
An exact opening date has not yet been announced.
The market is expected to offer Mexican and Latino specialty cuts, marinated fajita meat, ready-to-cook foods and more than 42 varieties of sausage, along with the Mexican-style ice cream shop operated by Ariana Lopez.
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