Quality product
Under the name Farmer Joe’s, the family touts the fact that its meats are locally sourced and originate within a 20-mile radius of the shop, a theme that gathers a positive response from shoppers who want to know where their meat is raised.
Main Street also has a 30-seat eat-in or take-out cafe/deli. Busy Life Bistro is the brand name they gave their “ready-made” meals. “Home-made in our kitchen, ready-to serve in yours” is the Busy Life Bistro theme.
We’re not just talking a sub shop here, but rather prepared gourmet meals presented in transparent sealed top trays ready-to-eat or take home to pop a few holes in the top and microwave in minutes.
The enterprising shop offers Carol’s Kitchen, named after an employee who passed away. The cavalcade of selections is remarkable, and purchases help a fundraising program for local charities and culinary scholarships in the community of 10,500 residents.
Outdoor smokehouses offer enticement as well and indoors they sell barbecue and grilling equipment ranging from grills and wood pellet cookers, and their own wood pellets too. Barbecue supplies are also on display, with everything from aprons and cooking utensils to propane gas.
Main Street Meat Co. provides a vast selection of foods that can be picked up for catering events, with a range from single serving to multi-serving sizes. You name it, they probably have it.
Deer processing at the new shop has grown from about 40 a year at the start to nearly 500 a year currently. The company provides a nice selection of services from cutting game animals to sausage and other value-added meats.
King believes strongly in working with good equipment and has added a pair of smokehouses, a bowl chopper, vacuum stuffers, tray sealing machine and most recently a slicing machine.
“With the slicing system we brought in, we get great consistency and have to use less labor,” he points out. “When we get wholesale orders we are ready to go, fill it right now, and our added cold storage helps round out our capabilities to fill orders quickly and on time.”
So what lies around the corner for the King family? King believes a rollstock machine is in the future and feels that in three or four years they might be looking for one or two additional retail stores that will operate under their name and will be supplied by their main processing plant.
While Main Street Meats has a manifold selection of products, services and flavors, customers merely seeking a simple pork chop can get it there. But they should make sure they ask for the Iowa Chop – center cut, rib on a stick, barbecue, balsamic, chipotle cinnamon or butterfly. Any questions?
