Meat varieties sure to please

Butcher pursues his passion with dozens of pork, beef, chicken creations

By: Noelle Rulseh, Herald Times Reporter

Name of Business: Newton Meats Inc.

Owners: James & Karean VanEss

When business started: 1992

Location: 5616 County U, Newton, WI 53063

Phone number: (920) 726-4455

Hours and days of operation: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon

Service provided, products sold: Jim VanEss knew he had a passion for the business when he was a 14-year-old boy living next to a small butcher shop in Green Bay. His business, Newton Meats, offers custom butchering of beef, pork, sheep and venison. Locally raised beef and pork are butchered on site, and the products are displayed in fresh and frozen meat cases in the retail store. Along with various cuts of meat, items include home-smoked boneless or bone-in hams, smoked bacons, a variety of summer sausages, 25 flavors of bratwurst, nine kinds of marinated chicken breasts, bologna, natural casing wieners and gourmet flavored patties. Many products are available only at the Newton Meats retail store.

Shoppers also will find sulze, head cheese, liver and beef sausage, beef oxtail, and beef tongue, along with heat-and-serve beef or pork with gravy and BBQ beef or pork.

Party trays feature homemade meats and locally processed cheese. A pig roaster and other special- occasion items are available for parties and small refrigerated trailers rent for $50.

Bulk items include beef bundles (28 pounds for $88) and pork bundles (13 pounds for $26.99), "Grilling Bonanza" (15 pounds for $62) includes T-bones, rib eye, Porterhouse, and hamburger and brat patties. The new ground beef bundle features 25 pounds of ground chuck for $68. Shoppers can stock their freezers with whole, half and quarter beef and whole hog, half hog and pork loin.

Newton Meats products are available in Manitowoc and Two Rivers at Copps Food Center, Pick 'n Save, Piggly-Wiggly and Rob's Market.

How has the business changed since opening? Since opening his business 17 years ago, VanEss has added a variety of specialty products in an extensive selection of brats and sausages. The VanEsses are adding more production space, including three new coolers, a sausage kitchen and a packaging room. Starting in August, the company is offering a new donation program where customers purchasing custom beef or pork have the option to donate a portion of their ground meat to the local food pantry. Newton Meats will match, in weight any ground beef or pork donation.

VanEss travels abroad to help improve meat-processing conditions in third world countries. In March, he traveled to Ethiopia, on a trip sponsored by the U.S. Framer-to-Farmer Program through Virginia State University, to offer ideas to improve procedures, offer training, and make recommendations for increased productivity and overall product quality. In 2006, Van Ess traveled to Moldova, sponsored by the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs, to help update that country's technology and sanitation procedures.

Who are the customers and from where? Newton Meats serves customers from the immediate area, and also has a large weekend business with people from Chicago and Milwaukee traveling north to their cottages.
Who or what is the competition? Other grocery stores in the area, although many of those stores also stock Newton meat products.

How is marketing done? Happy customers spread the word about the quality of Newton Meat products, the owners said. The company also advertises in the Herald Times Reporter and distributes informative pamphlets. The retail shop offers product samplings on weekends.

What are the keys to future success? The company succeeds by making quality products, offering a variety of products not available in supermarkets, and having good people on staff. Newton Meats employees are like family, owners said, and some have been with the business for many years.

Factors under control or not under control of ownership? The company can control the processes enabling production of a high-quality product.

What is your role of creativity or imagination in running the business or selling your products or services? Newton Meats always is working on the variety of products. They have 25 to 30 different brats in the retail store, including tomato basil Parmesan, pineapple, cranberry, chorizo style, Cajun, beer and whiskey brats. Summer sausage flavors include BBQ, jalapeño and cheese, and garlic with mustard seed. Snack sticks are fully cooked and ready to eat in a variety of flavors, and their bacon comes in flavors such as black pepper, smoked, and apple cinnamon.

What is challenging? A key challenge is to instill passion in young people to take an interest in artisan type jobs such as butchering and sausage making, and to keep these vocations alive.

What is frustrating? Keeping up with all the paperwork and regulations takes time. After visiting meat production facilities in third world cultures, VanEss understands why bookwork and regulations are important in his business.

What is enjoyable? "I think the enjoyment is doing something you truly love daily," said Jim VanEss. "It fulfills your life and makes your home life even better."

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