New Mobile Grocery Store in Dubuque Boasts Fresh, Local Offerings

A new, one-of-a-kind grocery store has recently opened in Dubuque. Its ethos is an important one as is marries local produce and other offerings with access. It's a mobile grocer that looks to serve the city's pockets where fresh food access is difficult for residents.

Westbluff Market is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Hunter and Theresa Jancek, who shaped the concept for their business after taking part in a U.S. Department of Agriculture fellowship in 2024, per the Telegraph Herald. Locally stocked and on the move to different locations, Westbluff Market sells a variety of products, including:

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Westbluff Market

• Milk
• Eggs
• Flour
• Beans
• Rice
• Honey
• Fresh bread
• Cookies
• Cinnamon rolls
• Fresh produce

How Westbluff Market is Combatting Food Deserts in Dubuque:

I reached out to Westbluff Market via Facebook and spoke with Hunter about him and his wife's mission. The Janceks' work began by taking excess products that vendors didn't sell at the Dubuque Farmers' Market and bringing them to the Dubuque Food Pantry. By the end of Hunter and Theresa's aforementioned fellowship, the two conceptualized a mobile grocery store, which would be parked outside Dubuque businesses and other locations where fresh food is rare.

For example, on Wednesdays, Westbluff Market is outside Ender's Diagnostic on Central Avenue, where convenience stores are far more ubiquitous than formal grocery stores, let alone fresh markets.

Westbluff Market

Billed as "Dubuque's smallest grocery store," Westbluff Market is predicated on supporting farmers. The Janceks make clear they themselves are not farmers, though they do grow and maintain a garden. They want to support those who are feeding the community, and nourish those in it as a result:

We source high-quality local food because we believe it’s simply the best. Food grown and made close to home is fresher, lasts longer, and our focus on transparency allows you to see exactly where your food came from and how it was made. When you buy local, you’re not just buying ingredients—you’re investing in your neighbors, your local economy, and the future of quality food in our community - Hunter Jancek of Westbluff Market

Further motivating the couple was the fact that when the couple (non-native Dubuquers) would travel on weekends, they missed their opportunity to attend the local farmers' market and purchase fresh food. With Westbluff Market, they're about democratizing the opportunity for people to purchase fresh, locally grown food, and also combatting losses from those who grow it.

Where Will Westbluff Market Be Set Up in Dubuque?:

Westbluff Market

While Westbluff Market looks to cater to pockets of the community at a time, which is an absolute need, there is an inherent trickiness insofar that, like a food truck, they will be in a different location depending on the day. With that in mind, the Janceks have made following them easy.

You can sign up for text alerts that will inform you on where Westbluff Market will be. You can text LOCAL to 844-655-3367 to enroll (standard messaging rates apply). The Janceks use this service to keep people updated on the market's location in real time. They send texts with their schedule, locations, addresses, and pop-up event details on a weekly basis. They also have a very cleanly laid out website to boot.

Some of Westbluff Market's Ready-to-Eat Offerings:

Westbluff Market

Westbluff Market has also curated a menu of ready-to-eat offerings for hungry patrons looking for something they can eat as soon as they purchase it. Some of those items include:

• Deerland Dairy Yogurt Bowls made with their own granola and topped with seasonal fruit.
• Spicy Sweet Corn Cottage Cheese Bowls using WW Homestead cottage cheese, Fincel's Sweet Corn, Hilltop Greens cucumbers, Ineichen tomatoes, Rising Sun Garden green onions, and jalapeños, chives, and dried spices from the Janceks' own garden.
• Caesar Salads using Hilltop Greens and/or Rising Sun Garden romaine lettuce and authentic Caesar dressing made by Theresa.

Westbluff Market

Again, you can text LOCAL to 844-655-3367 to enroll (standard messaging rates apply) in text alerts to stay posted on where Westbluff Market will be located. You can also follow them on their official website and their Facebook page.