Published Aug. 22, 2026.
By Robert Maharry, Times-Republican
A new clothing store focused specifically on Mexican and western-style cowboy attire — hats, belts, shirts, pants and more — has opened its doors in Marshalltown.
La Bufa, which is named after a famous hill in the city of Zacatecas, is located at 204 E. Linn St. Ste. A, the former home of the Mid-Iowa Triumph Recovery Center that has since moved to South 1st Street.
The Marshalltown store follows 20 years in Des Moines
The first La Bufa store has been operating in Des Moines for about 20 years, and co-owner/Marshalltown store manager Ana Castro explained that with so many of their customers traveling from here to there to purchase clothing, they eventually decided that a location in Marshalltown made sense.
“It was difficult for them to drive all the way down just for one single thing, so we decided to open a second business,” Castro said. “This is smaller (than the Des Moines store), but it still works.”
In the two weeks they’ve been open thus far, the response from customers has been overwhelmingly positive as many of them remember the Des Moines store and are glad to have the opportunity to make a much shorter trip. While some of the Mexican grocery stores in Marshalltown do sell clothing, La Bufa is the first to focus exclusively on it.
RELATED: La Isla Mercado Cubano opens as Marshalltown’s first Cuban grocery store.
“We’re completely different, and I’m so happy for everybody that they are in this country, this great nation that we are right now,” she said. “I’m glad and I’m happy and I’m proud of what we’re doing, and I’m proud to understand you guys’ culture and share my culture with you guys too.”
Ana Castro operates La Bufa with her family
They are excited to bring a new shopping option for Marshalltown residents as there are at least five or six other similar stores in the Des Moines area already.
Castro co-owns the store with her aunt, Araceli Pena, and Ana’s mother Maria Castro is helping her with the day-to-day operations.
La Bufa is open every day — from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
The business can be reached by phone at (515) 203-7729 and is active on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or [email protected].
This article was originally published by the Times-Republican and is republished through a media partnership.
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