Teresa Davis of West Forty Market in Ankeny says she sends hundreds of custom curated meat bundles nationwide during the holidays. “People like to send Iowa-made gifts. Even if it’s to someone local, it makes a unique gift.” 

Gift boxes come in an attractive package with a holiday card and personal note. “It makes the holidays fun,” says Davis, a Polk County Farm Bureau member.

Employers get in on the fun, with custom employee gifts filled with crackers, summer sausage and chocolates. Beef sticks make great stocking stuffers.

Working with other Iowa vendors like Sisters in Cheese, My Dinner Delights and other bakers and chefs, West Forty Market spreads holiday cheer and promotes Iowa products. 

West Forty Market sells all Iowa products, representing around 120 businesses. Along with West Forty beef, the shop offers produce and shelf-stable products such as honey, sauces and rubs, plus fresh pork, chicken, turkey, bison, Wagyu beef and lamb. “And we’re always adding,” says Davis. “Part of the fun is researching new products.”

For Thanksgiving, you can order a turkey raised by Golden Prairie Turkey in Manson, complete with sides and all the trimmings created by Iowa entrepreneurs. West Forty sells around 1,000 turkeys each year, about one-quarter of what Golden Prairie Turkey produces.

The one-stop shop is open seven days a week in Uptown Ankeny.

“We don’t want to be a specialty shop,” says Davis. “We want to be the go-to for your grocery shopping.”

Around 500 shoppers a week who visit West Fork Market are getting the message.


Seizing opportunity

West Forty Market was started four years ago, an extension of West Forty Market in Greene, owned and operated by Davis’ parents John and Sue Ebensberger, who are Butler County Farm Bureau members. The enterprise was named for their 40-acre farm west of Greene.

“Our core business is our meat,” says Davis. “It makes up around 80% of sales. But the store has grown into so much more.”

The farm initially supplied friends and family.

“It’s Iowa farm-fresh beef, the way it is supposed to taste,” says Davis. “For some, that is a shock to the tastebuds, but once they try it, they never want to go back.”

When West Forty decided to reach a broader market, they sold for a few years at the Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market, but the effort was stymied by COVID. 

During the pandemic Davis also lost her corporate job, but she turned life’s twists and turns into opportunity.

She opened the Ankeny shop in the town’s historic downtown “because it reminded me of my small hometown.” The old downtown district has come back to life in recent years, with its vintage architecture, brick buildings and small shops. “It feels small,” says Davis. “It’s hard to go out without seeing someone you know.”

PICTURED ABOVE: WEST FORT MARKET. PHOTO BY CONRAD SCHMIDT


Meeting market needs

West Forty Market is tapping into a blooming consumer trend — the marriage of fresh, wholesome food and convenience. 

“People are now more aware and want to know where their food comes from,” says Davis. “They are often misinformed and have little access to fresh, Iowa food. We raise so much good food here in Iowa, but not everyone gets to enjoy it.”

Davis wants to change that.

West Forty Market sells bulk beef by the half or quarter, but most purchases are individual cuts. They deliver within a 20-mile radius of the Ankeny store. Customers can also order online and, for free shipping with a $75 order, have it delivered nationwide.

They’ve outgrown the West Forty farm as a sole source of beef and now source from other farmers who raise and care for their animals according to West Forty standards.

“Our customers want consistency and quality for the money,” says Davis. 

High beef prices don’t seem to scare them off. If anything, Davis says, it brings them to her door. “If they’re going to pay, they want to make sure they’re getting quality for it. Higher prices have raised their expectations.”

Davis has no desire to become one of the “big stores.” She prefers to stay small but doesn't consider West Forty to be boutique. “We’re the everyday stop where people go to get the essentials they need to feed their family,” says Davis. Milk, sourdough bread and produce are available, with many offerings for vegetarian customers, not just meat eaters.

There are regulatory hurdles. Davis can’t get or sell certain beef products, deer can’t be harvested for sale, packaged foods can’t contain meat and certain products can’t be offered for resale. But she says she doesn’t have time to fight the system.

She’s too busy meeting customers’ needs.

“It’s exciting to see what the store will become,” says Davis. “There are so many products produced here. When people come through the door, they don’t just support me, they support hundreds of others across the state who grow and produce our food. That makes for a really neat vibe. I encourage you to check us out.”

Queck-Matzie is a freelance writer from Greenfield.