Acapulco Mexican Bakery finds success, seeks to open third location

Alejandro Garcia Gonzalez owns and runs Iowa City’s Acapulco Mexican Bakery, which is just one location of the expanding family business.  After moving to the U.S. in the 2000s, Mr. Gonzalez’s parents bought a pre-owned bakery in West Liberty and opened it as the first Acapulco location in the region in 2008. Mr. Gonzalez is […]

Alejandro Garcia Gonzalez owns and runs Iowa City’s Acapulco Mexican Bakery, which is just one location of the expanding family business.  After moving to the U.S. in the 2000s, Mr. Gonzalez’s parents bought a pre-owned bakery in West Liberty and opened it as the first Acapulco location in the region in 2008. Mr. Gonzalez is one of three brothers who help run the stores. 

He said his father had dreamed of opening a bakery because bread-making ran in the family, beginning with Mr. Gonzalez’s grandfather.  “So when they came over here, my dad was working two jobs. My mom was working too. So, they saved up a little bit of money and they were able to purchase the original location,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “My parents, usually they brought recipes and baked good items — Every idea that they had, basically they brought it from Mexico. So we try to keep it authentic.”  Finding success after the first two years in West Liberty, the family opened the Iowa City Acapulco location at 1937 Keokuk St. in 2010. Though it started off as just a bakery, it has since expanded to be a grocery store, ice cream shop, and taqueria.

Mr. Gonzalez said they’ve recently seen business boom as more members of the Latino community move to the region.  “There's a high influx of Hispanics in the community now, in comparison to what it was before. It used to be not that much, and now it's just blowing up immensely,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “And a lot of people — we're starting to see more from different communities kind of try out our stuff too because everybody wants to taste something different.”  They’ve found enough success in recent years, Mr. Gonzalez said, that they plan to expand again. The family purchased a third location in Muscatine this August, which they aim to renovate and open in 2025 with the same features as the Iowa City venue.

By far, Mr. Gonzalez said, one of Acapulco’s most popular items among customers is their arrachera, or skirt steak.  “That's the one that we sell out the most of every week, every major holiday,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Because a lot of people, they like to come for the meat, because it's fresh and it's thinly sliced, you could easily cook it.”  However, he noted that the ice cream shop inside the store is also a fan-favorite for its variety. Earlier this summer, Acapulco in Iowa City was named one of the best ice cream spots in the county for its Paleta, a popsicle-type treat with a consistency akin to gelato. “Because everything's homemade, all the fruit ice creams have actual fruit in them and stuff like that,” Mr. Gonzalez said.  He said his personal favorite — of the several flavors they offer — is their cheese-flavored ice cream. Though Acapulco primarily carries Mexican foods and ingredients, they also now carry some Central American and South American-specific items, Mr. Gonzalez said.