When Jena Christian was a little girl, she remembers her father coming home from work in his long white butcher's apron, splattered with red.
"It's Kool-Aid, honey," her father would say.
Sitting in the back office at
Galesburg Meat Company, Jena, now a grown woman, laughs heartily. Across from her, sitting at the desk, is Arlene Christian, her grandmother. Three generations of Christians have owned and managed GMC since Rich Christian, Arlene's husband, bought the business in 1977. When Rich passed, he left the business in his son Mark's capable hands -- and "Kool-Aid" splattered apron.
"Rich was the meat manager at the Family Foods grocery store in Kalamazoo back then," Arlene says. "Someone told him about Galesburg Frozen Food Locker going up for sale, and he bought it. He was the sole proprietor then, but we incorporated about 30 years ago."
When Rich Christian took over the business at 58 Mill Street in the center of Galesburg, he changed the name to Galesburg Locker & Meat Company. At that time, Arlene explains, few people had the refrigerator space to hold a side of beef, which was what the business sold. Once the side of beef was purchased -- sometimes even financed through a bank -- it was stored in a locker. As times changed and more customers bought larger freezers of their own, the "locker" part of the business was dropped, and the name was shortened to Galesburg Meat Company.
Today's GMC sells much more than sides of beef. To beef add pork, poultry, seafood, smoked meats, along with seasonings, cheeses, sausages, and homemade jerky. Meats are sold in quantities of one-meal up to, yes, sides of beef.
"We used to also process venison, but we stopped doing that about three years ago," Jena says. "Regulations for handling deer are complex and now require a separate building. We didn't have the space. But if someone brings in a boneless piece of venison, we will still process that." She points to a long row of venison salami swinging from a rack, ready to slice.
What differentiates GMC from your corner supermarket, the Christians will tell you, is that to this day they are still an old-fashioned butcher shop. Meat arrives at the supermarket already packaged, but buying meat from the butcher means the customer knows exactly how fresh that cut is -- and where it is from.
"All our beef and pork is local, all from farms within five miles down the road," Jena says. "We process meat from farmers, from slaughter to packaging, or we do custom processing when someone buys from a farmer and wants it processed a certain way."
Another family tradition, passed from generation to generation, is how meats are aged and smoked at GMC. In comparison to the smoked meats one finds on the typical supermarket shelf, often wet-aged (vacuum-sealed in a bag for a couple of days to retain water, which then adds to the weight of the meat when sold) GMC uses the more traditional dry-aging method, which allows the natural enzymes in the meat to tenderize it over two weeks. The wait, those at GMC will tell you, is worth it.
Jena leads the way through the building. She explains the process of smoking, pointing out a meat tumbler that marinates and tenderizes meat. "Dad smokes the meat," Jena says. "First, he injects the meat with the cure using four needles. Then he tumbles the meat in this tumbler for about three hours so that the cure gets throughout the meat. Next, it goes into the smokehouse for about 12 hours."
The smoked meats -- hams, pork chops, pulled pork, bacon and other cuts -- may just be GMC's greatest claim to fame. While many so-called smoked meats in stores actually use liquid smoke to inject flavor, GMC uses the same smokehouse they've had from the start. Customers vow their allegiance after sizzling thick slices of bacon or ham steaks on the breakfast skillet.
"Grandpa was always telling me about how we smoke meat here," Jena says. "Customers these days want to know what goes into their meat, and we often get asked about nitrates. Natural nitrates form during smoking. We don't use them as a preservative, but just enough for flavor. Celery salt, for instance, is a nitrate."
GMC's homemade jerky is another treat unique to them, sold only at GMC. The meat used for jerky is hand-cut, whole muscle meat -- beef, pork, or turkey. Flavors include regular, teriyaki, Cajun, peppered, Hot Dragon (it's hot!), barbecue, hickory, Colorado, bacon, or Southwest, and run around $4.50 per package.
Sausages are another popular item, made on premises. "It's uncommon," Jena says. "Farm to table, we do it all here. That's what sets us apart. We know what's in everything."
"When you hear about food recalls, that's at those big places where meat comes in from many different farms and gets mixed together," Arlene adds. "You don't get that here."
Brats, Italian sausages, pork and beef sausages -- Rich Christian had his own secret recipe for all of them. Today, Mark adds his own touch, and the secrets remain secret. This is the kind of personal attention customers are increasingly seeking, Arlene says.
"People are really interested in buying local," she says. "Local and clean. We've noticed customers asking much more about what goes into the meat if there are preservatives, antibiotics, phosphates. There are not."
Customized service is how it's done. Buy one pound or one hundred pounds, all cuts are in stock. Meat is sold in individual cuts or in bundles that are priced from just above $100 to $350, and can feed a large family for months: steaks, roasts, ribs, ground, sausages, a variety of cuts and even soup bones.
GMC also offers a full catering service, called
Catering by GMC, for any size event. All meats are from GMC, and appetizers, salads, and sides are also available.
"Dad cooks the meat for the catering, too," Jena says. "You know, when I first came to work here, I thought it was for a couple weeks between jobs. That was two years ago. I love working with family. I would love to keep this going to the next generation."
Zinta Aistars is creative director for Z Word, LLC. She also hosts the weekly radio show about books and writers, Between the Lines, at WMUK 102.1 FM.
All photos at Galesburg Meat Co. by Zinta Aistars.