Moutassim “Mo” Meri is bullish on Perry.
Meri — Mo to friends and customers — is the owner of Mo’s Gyro food truck, which serves a wide variety of dishes, including gyros, falafels and Philly cheese steaks, from its location in Caboose Park in downtown Perry.
“I have faith in Perry people,” Meri said Thursday at the ribbon-cutting ceremony staged by the Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce. “Perry’s a great town. We just need to fill it up. We have 8,000 and soon there will be 12,000. People need to see there’s no reason to go to Des Moines. We have everything right here in Perry.”
To show how strong his faith in Perry is, Meri recently dissolved the partnership that owned the food truck when it looked like it would relocate to Des Moines.
“I decided to keep it in Perry,” Meri said. “I bought out my partner just so we could stay here in Perry.”
With the new ownership has come a new name — Mo’s Gyro — and a new look, thanks to Meri’s artist friend George Martinez from Des Moines, who gave the food truck its bold new look in a two-day marathon painting session. Martinez and his friend Janette Ruano were on hand for the ribbon cutting.
“I graduated from East High, but I went to school in Perry through the eighth grade, ” Martinez said. He said he does artwork around central Iowa for schools, festivals and other events.
Meri was also joined Thursday by his friend Zak Ibrahim of Perry, recently retired from his position as orientation trainer at Tyson Fresh Meats near Perry.
“Mo is a good man,” Ibrahim said. “He knows how to work hard and make this a big success.”
A large number of mid-day diners and Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce members joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“We don’t serve processed meat, like a hot dog,” Meri said. “All our gyros are homemade, and our prep is all done daily with the freshest possible ingredients. It’s as fresh as if you fixed it yourself.”
In honor of the Thursday ribbon cutting, Mo’s Gyro offered a $5 special on its gyro lunch. Meri said Thursday specials might become a regular part of his menu.