7 immigrant-owned businesses to support this holiday season—and year-round

Check out these immigrant-owned businesses to not only boost your local economy but also support those who the federal government is actively targeting.

Being an immigrant in the United States isn’t easy. That’s perhaps the understatement of the decade, but continued targeted pressure from President Donald Trump—including but not limited to ICE’s nationwide raids—is making immigrants fearful in their daily lives. His vice president, JD Vance, has even admitted to spreading a racist lie about immigrants. With so much vitriol, it can feel like there’s nothing we can do, but that’s not true. In addition to using your voice to support immigrants, whether at a protest or on social media, you can also support local immigrant-owned businesses.

Buying goods and services from immigrant-owned businesses not only puts money directly into immigrant hands but also supports your entire local economy. It’s like buying local goods in Iowa throughout the holiday season but with an added skosh of socioeconomic goodwill. As such, we searched for some great immigrant-owned businesses that you should support not only this holiday season but also year-round—after all, the spirit of giving is even sweeter when it’s extended past December. Here are some excellent ones to know.

1. The Boulevard Bar & Grill

Address: 1311 Bayou Rd, Clear Lake, IA

Hours: Monday-Saturday: 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m.

Open every day but Sunday, The Boulevard Bar & Grill slices, dices, sizzles, and serves the Clear Lake area some seriously tasty dishes. According to KIMT3, the immigrant-owned restaurant opened in early 2023 and comes from the mind of Gentian Bajrami, an Albanian entrepreneur who came to the United States two years prior with little more than $2,000 and a dream to enter a heavily competitive market.

A few years later, he’s made a name for himself, and his restaurant is a cornerstone of the community. His goal? “Just bringing the best quality, bringing the best service and bringing the best environment to this area,” he told the outlet. And he does that with good vibes and even better food. On the menu, you’ll find steak bites served with garlic bread, Hawaiian-inspired meatballs, Mediterranean flatbreads, lobster cakes (think upgraded crab cakes), and more. Now our stomach’s growling!

2. Bosna Grocery

Address: 3009 Merle Hay Rd #4, Des Moines, IA 50310

Hours: Monday-Sunday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Nestled in the McNeal Shopping Center, Bosna Grocery brings European goods to Des Moines every single day. These include traditional candies and sweets, breads, dairy and meat products, and more. Oh, and you can get crisp, fresh produce here to boot.

One thing we love is that Bosna Grocery keeps its Facebook page updated with sale prices. For example, the grocer offered an early-November 2025 deal on Eurocream, the popular sweet spread that can be best likened to Nutella except for its hazelnut and chocolate flavors being separate and not mixed together. Ultimately, whether you’re doing a full grocery run or just want to stock up on special sweet treats, you can’t go wrong with supporting this immigrant-owned business around the holidays or otherwise.

3. The Halal Guys

Address: 3220 Redhawk St, Suite 300, Coralville, IA, United States, 52241

Hours: Monday-Tuesday: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Wednesday-Thursday: 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday: 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

The Halal Guys is a unique immigrant-owned business on this list because it’s the only one to be a chain in several states, not just in Iowa. Still, its Coralville location is beloved despite opening just one year ago in Dec. 2024, and this Iowa franchise comes from four close friends: Ahmed Ahmed, Hassan Karoam, Asma Elmahdi, and Siddig Siddig (via The Gazette). The four of them came to the U.S. over two decades ago, and they’re now bringing Middle Eastern flavors to the local masses.

Eating at The Halal Guys is a real treat. You have several protein options—spicy BBQ chicken, falafel, regular chicken, and beef gyro—that can be served in bowls or pita sandwiches, and the sauces take them over the top. You can also order a side of hummus or extra falafel on the side, which we always recommend. Oh, and you must stay for dessert. If you’re like us, the Chocolate Baklava Cheesecake sounds simply to die for.

4. B&V African Food Market

Address: 3527E E 26th St, Des Moines, IA 50317

Hours: Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday: 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

B&V African Food Market is one of a few grocers on this list, and for good reason. International food markets connect people to their homes, and they give immigrant-owned businesses a chance to bring people together in really special ways. Case in point, B&V African Food Market owner Benjamin Dean told We Are Iowa that he makes each visitor to his store feel like they are from his community, and he’s been doing so since his store opened in the fall of 2019.

Dean left his birth country, Liberia, in 2003, and he knew that he wanted to create a place where fellow Africans could find food and clothes that reminded them of their countries. “When I got here, there were few African stores. So it was very hard to, if you wanted to cook, and so I told myself one day I think I need to open a store here,” he explained to We Are Iowa. One example of an ingredient that’s close to home and sold in his store is fufu flour, which is made from plantains. This is used to make fufu, a starchy food used to grab and eat foods like stews. If you’ve never tasted fufu or made it yourself, we wholeheartedly recommend it!

5. Ramen Belly

Address: 1010 Martin St, Iowa City, IA

Hours: Monday-Saturday: 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m.

If you’re in Iowa City and craving Japanese food that will warm up your stomach and spirit alike, you need to check out Ramen Belly. As detailed by The Daily Iowan, Ramen Belly comes from owners John Lieu and Andy Diep, and it filled a big hole in the local scene. “We were the first ramen shop to open up in the area,” Lieu, who is from Vietnam, told the outlet. “[It’s] getting popular, like a trend now. If you go to New York City or Chicago or any major city, you’d see a good amount of ramen restaurants. But in Japan, it’s just casual food, like a hot dog or hamburger [in America].”

Ramen Belly offers more than just ramen, too. Its menu is stacked with Korean-style fried chicken, short ribs, pot stickers, sashimi, and more. One menu item that sounds absolutely mesmerizing is the Ramen in a Blanket, a comforting dish featuring “ramen noodles comfortably snuggling between two Tonkatsu.” A filling dish like this can’t be beat around the holidays, if you ask us.

6. Beno’s Flowers

Address: 107 E Iowa Ave, Iowa City, IA 52240

Hours: Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Grocers and restaurants aren’t the only immigrant-owned businesses you should be supporting in Iowa. Beno’s Flowers hit the Iowa City scene in the fall of 2018 thanks to young but seasoned entrepreneur Benito Ocampo Campos (via The Gazette). Ocampo Campos, who hails from Mexico, has been running businesses since he was 19, but Beno’s Flowers is his first company in the U.S. Oh, and his rationale will make you melt. “Flowers bring happiness, with their smell and their colors, when people receive them. Everyone loves flowers,” he told The Gazette.

Beno’s Flowers offers a variety of flower arrangements, as well as cards, candles, and more. At the time of writing, myriad holiday arrangements are available to order on the florist’s website, and same-day orders are even considered for those in the area if his schedule permits them. Our hot tip? Beno’s Flowers does weddings, and we’d recommend checking them out after seeing how beautiful the shop’s wedding floral arrangements look on its website.

7. El Azul Mexican Market

Address: 415 Community Dr B, North Liberty, IA 52317

Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Similar to other immigrant-owned businesses on this list, like The Boulevard Bar & Grill, North Liberty’s El Azul Mexican Market is only a few years old but is filling a crucial gap in the community. It also extends a family legacy of Mexican-owned businesses. According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, the shop’s owners, Sara Puffer and Edgar Reynoso Ayala took over an old Family Video storefront because other grocery stores in the area weren’t open on Sundays. This way, they could also bring ingredients from their culture to the greater Iowa City area. On the family business front, Reynoso Ayala’s father is a longtime entrepreneur with his own store in Mexico.

One glance at the store’s website will make you want to visit immediately. In addition to fresh, high-quality groceries, El Azul Mexican Market has a taco truck and offers catering services, bringing mouthwatering food right to your door. Oh, and you can also order regular, non-catering food, like breakfast burritos, birria ramen, and street tacos. Essentially, you’re leaving here full every time.