To the Sanchez brothers of Perry — Antonio and Jose — relocating their El Rey Carniceria nearer to the city’s biggest meat market, Tyson Fresh Meats, might be the best business decision they could make.
The Sanchezes have owned the popular food store at 1104 Second St. in downtown Perry for four or five months, according to Perla Sanchez, Antonio’s daughter.
Sanchez said the previous owner had to go to Mexico on family business, so her father and uncle bought him ought.
“They’ve made a lot of improvements already,” said Sanchez, a Perry High School graduate, as she stood with an arm around her niece, Sonia Sanchez, 6, Jose’s daughter. “The coolers in the back are all new,” she said.
But a recent rent increase have the Sanchez brothers looking for other options for the El Rey Market, and their sights have set on the former Abilities Unlimited building at 210 Willis Ave.
The 14,500 square foot building dates from 1957. It was originally built as a furniture store and for many years was the home of a local radio and television retailer.
Abilities Unlimited, a provider of services to adults with mental and emotional disabilities, operated out of the building from 1996 until August 2016, when the building was bought by the Raccoon Valley Bank in a sheriff’s sale for about $40,000 in back taxes.
Sanchez said the new spot might be ideal for El Rey.
“The new location will be a lot better because we’d be so close to Tyson,” she said. “Our busiest time is right when the shift ends at Tyson, so now people will be closer, and we’ll be right there for them.”
She said the new location would also be an improvement “because then we’d own the building.”
The downtown home of El Rey was purchased Nov. 1 by West Des Moines entrepreneurs Jacqueline Riekena and Davin Roberts.
The 11,000-square-foot, two-story building, built in 1946, for many years housed Conklin Jewelers and Woolworth’s. Riekena is doing extensive remodeling.
“I plan to optimize and utilize the entire space,” Riekena said. “I plan to create a lot of jobs in Perry.”
She said new communications lines, along with internet, were recently installed, and all other communication wires, cables and dishes were disconnected and removed from the building.
“The next order of business is to address the outdated plumbing,” Riekena said.
