Let’s play a game. A historic small business, a candidate for Johnson County Supervisor, and a famously savory meal. How are these things connected?
The answer? Ruzicka’s Meat Processing and Catering and their iconic pork patties.
Ruzicka’s has been a staple in the Solon community since it first opened its doors in 1981. But recently, their famous burgers have been introduced to the greater Johnson County area via Jessica Andino on Jan. 30, 2026.
Andino, the executive director of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition and Dermocratic candidate for the Board of Supervisors, was raised in Solon, and had plenty of memories to share.
The photo, posted to Andino’s public account, depicts her – bright pink nails and all – holding a bundle labelled “B.B.Q. PORK PATTIES.” The photo was captioned “IYKYK,” an acronym for “if you know, you know.”
Most people from Solon know the photo is from Ruzicka’s.
Ruzicka’s co-owner, Jeff Ruzicka, is the son of the original owner, and recalled how the barbecue burgers were born.
“My dad was good with spices, recipes, and all that kind of stuff,” Ruzicka began. “Pork producers were looking for something to sell at the fair, or my dad was trying to create something for them.”
The senior Ruzicka came up with a pork burger with barbecue sauce inside.
“It is our biggest seller,” Jeff Ruzicka said. “We sell more of those than anything else.”
Julie Uhlenkamp, Jeff’s sister, said their father went through many rounds of testing to come up with the popular patty.
“They kept telling him ‘no.’ They kept telling him ‘no,’ and finally they approved it,” Uhlenkamp said. “And they’ve (the patties) just taken off and grown over the years.”
Uhlenkamp also said that the pork patties were a huge seller for the business, estimating almost 10,000 pounds of the product is made in one year alone.
“The town’s been very welcoming to us since we came here 43 years ago,” Uhlenkamp, also a co-owner of Ruzicka’s, said.
“I came here as a 20- or 18-year-old, and I’m still here, 40 years later.”
Farm Crisis
Back when the business was just starting out, the country as a whole faced one of the most severe economic struggles since the Great Depression, the Farm Crisis of the 1980s.
According to Iowa PBS, the crisis began in the early 1970’s, when US agricultural demand rose incredibly high. Some might recall President Richard Nixon’s Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz, and his routine request to US agricultural workers: “Get big or get out.”
But when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, President Jimmy Carter placed a grain embargo against the Soviet Union, stalling the high demand for agricultural products. Many farmers lost their farms, and eventually it affected Ruzicka’s.
“Farmers were going out and they were losing their farms and lockers were struggling,” Jeff Ruzicka said. “If farmers struggle, lockers struggle.”
Because of the massive hit that farms in the Midwest took, meat lockers also were deeply affected, as well as other small-town aspects such as rural banks or businesses. Despite the shrinking number of farms after the era, Ruzicka’s was able to survive and even expand.
The Family
Owning a business like Ruzicka’s was always his dad’s dream, Jeff Ruzicka said. And now, Ruzicka’s continues to be a family business for both Jeff and Julie.
“Of course, there’s always fights and arguments and disagreements, but we still continue to stand by each other’s side and keep [the business] going,” Uhlenkamp said.
Both Ruzicka and Uhlenkamp spend much of their days working at the business, whether it be helping customers, processing the meats, or otherwise.
The Community
Andino, now living in the Iowa City area, happily admitted to making the drive 20 minutes north to get an eight pack of pork patties.
“I intentionally spend money where I think it is deserved,” Andino said. “Knowing that they are employing folks from the county, knowing that they are processing food from the county, and just knowing that they’re doing good, I like to support them.”
Andino, although born in North Liberty, was raised in Solon and lived in a subdivision just outside of the city limits. She recalled those small-town feelings and memories like Friday night football games, Casey’s pizza from the concession stands, and how good it felt to just know other people in the community.
But her fondest memories were of Solon’s Beef Days.
Held right in the town center, the classic two-day festival of all things agriculture and the meat industry of the town is one of Solon’s most iconic events. Andino remembered the hay bale toss and the morning parade held the next day.
She remembered playing bingo for a quarter per card. She remembered her school sport coaches flipping Ruzicka’s classic pork burgers on the grill.
“And even just thinking about it,” Andino said, “you can smell it. It just smells like childhood.”
Beef Days is one of the biggest events of the year, not just for the Solon community, but also for Ruzicka’s in particular. The meat locker sells not just pork patties, but ribeye steak sandwiches and bratwursts.
Andino is not the only one who visits from outside the community to get the patties, according to Uhlenkamp.
“There’s people that come and take them to other states, to their kids, to their friends,” she said. “The customers we have are very loyal.”
Ruzicka’s
301 North Dubuque St.
319-624-2870
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday: 8-11 a.m.
Mitchell Brinkmeyer is a student in the UI community news class