Cherokee, Iowa — A new owner plans to reopen a meat processing facility in northwest Iowa. Oklahoma-based Lopez Foods, a family-owned business, bought the plant in Cherokee from Iowa Food Group, which closed the facility in April.
Bill Anderson with Cherokee Area Economic Development says 40 people worked at Iowa Food Group before it closed.
Lopez Foods expects to reopen the plant in early spring. The plant was idle for four years before Iowa Food Group started it up again in January. The plant dates back to 1965 when Wilson Foods opened it to slaughter beef and pork. Tyson Foods acquired it in 2001 and produced deli meats at the facility.
About 400 people were working at the plant when Tyson closed it in 2014. Lopez Foods, the plant’s new owner, is a key supplier for restaurants and retailers, including McDonald’s and Walmart. The company’s plant in Oklahoma City produces frozen ground beef patties, partially cooked and fully-cooked sausage patties and sliced Canadian-style bacon.
