About us
Palmer House is a three-generation family business, still owned and operated by family. We are proud to consider our dedicated employees and customers part of our family as well. That’s the way our founder, Bob, would have wanted it.
Our Founder's Story for Palmer House
Robert "Bob" Palmer, Founder
Bob’s entrepreneurial vision began as a boy in the 1930’s when he worked for a local German sausage maker in Prairie du Chen, Wisconsin. Bob developed a fascination for food processing and the art of preserving and flavoring meat, poultry and fish.
Bob also dreamed of starting his own business one day to provide jobs for hard working people and offer quality products for local residents. In 1981, Bob founded Palmer House in Waterloo, Iowa in order to be near the largest group of meat packing facilities and meat locker plants in the Midwest. Business grew due to Bob’s ability to build close and trusting relationships with farmers, hunters and business owners. Many of these early relationships are still loyal customers today.
When Bob passed away in 1990, his children continued the family business. Due to growth and expansion, the business relocated to Omaha, NE. We continue to evolve into modern blending, processing and bottling technologies. These innovative and modern updates have allowed us to gain and maintain customers throughout the United States.
"Change can be difficult and moving away from the original location of my father's business was hard. Today we still have many of those original customers while also gaining new ones. If only my father were alive today to see us fill an entire semi-trailer with just one order of our products. "
~ Larry Palmer, President and CEO
(photo: Roger, Bob & Larry Palmer)
Our Future
Bartley Novak is General Manager & Marketing Director. Bart has been part of the Palmer House family since 2005 and instrumental in its growth and modernization. He oversees production, sales and employee management while working closely with Larry Palmer, Bob's oldest son. Bart also maintains long standing relationships with the Nebraska Association of Meat Processors and Iowa Meat Processors Association, among many more.
Grandpa Bob’s Palmer House legacy continues through the love and support of his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We continue to uphold Bob's belief that his employees and customers are part of his small business family. If you are interested in becoming part of our small business family as either a customer or employee, please contact us because we'd love to hear from you.