After almost thirty years in the meat locker business, owners Dave and Sandra Brandt are saying good-bye to their treasured small business. At the age of 74-years-old, Dave admits it is time to hang up his butchering duties and enjoy retirement. The many years of operating a family business has left him with a multitude of stories and memories that he was happy to share with the Avon Clarion and Pechous Publications.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your role with the Avon Locker?

My name is Dave Brandt. I was born and raised in rural Avon and have lived here all my life. My wife is Sandra Brandt. She was born and raised in rural Avon also. When our boys were six and three we moved off the farm and I began working at the locker. I helped butcher, cut and wrap meat, and make bologna, liver sausage, and other items being made at that time. Leonard Harmacek was the owner at that time. I worked at the locker for three years and then began working somewhere else.

When did you start the Avon Meat Locker and what were your first years like in this industry?

We bought the building at an auction sale in November of 1991. My boys and I each had a deer license. We went hunting in the morning and all filled our tags. We returned by 10 AM and I decided to go (to) the sale. When I came home I told my wife that I had bought the locker and she said “ya, right”. She didn’t want to believe me at first, but that was how it happened. When we bought the building in Nov. 1991, it had been closed for 1 ½ years. My father-in-law, some family members and friends and I worked for 6-8 months to get the building ready to open. We hauled the floors out and dropped them eight to ten inches. We put in new drains, sewer, new cement floors and painted and cleaned so that it would pass inspection for opening. We opened for business on Sept. 15, 1992.

We had to start from scratch because after being closed for that long, people didn’t know it was open again, and people didn’t know us. It took a little while, but once word got out that the Avon Locker was operating, people came. Over the years we have made many friends. When the Standing Bear Bridge opened, many people from Nebraska started coming over. Several locker plants have closed in the area so people needed a place to get their animals processed. We were able to help some of those patrons out.

How has the business changed throughout the years?

In the beginning the locker was the busiest during the school year – September through May. That has changed over the years and it evened out and became a steady pace throughout the year.

The past year we had my wife working in the front; Boomer, Curt and Jim in the back doing the cutting, wrapping, grinding, etc. I did all the butchering.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect business at the meat locker?

Covid-19 hit the locker hard. The first week we began placing an order for boxed meat from our salesman, and I asked him what the prices were before he placed the order. After hearing how much the prices had increased in such a short time, we cancelled the order for that week. The next week the salesman worked a little more diligently, finding us good quality meat at lower prices. We had to get a little creative in our purchases. We had to order some frozen products, but they would thaw in about 2-3 days, and then we could grind for hamburger or grind to be used in hot dogs, bologna, and chub bologna. The product was there if you looked a little harder. There was not the shortage that the meat processing plants wanted you to believe there was. We had the advantage over some stores as we had the equipment to break down different cuts of boxed meat.

Another way that Covid-19 affected us, was the phone didn’t stop ringing as people were trying to get animals scheduled for butchering. As everyone knows many of the locker plants are booked out to the end of 2021 and some even farther. Ground beef was a hot commodity. We were able to provide a lot of ground beef for those people who could not get it at their store. Some people bought a quarter or half of beef instead of buying meal to meal, even (though) they had never done that before.

We also had two employees test positive for Covid-19. We locked the doors and put a sign on the door instructing people to call us if they came to pick up their meat or needed other products. We then let them know what the cost was and took everything out to their vehicle and collected payment. We were able to social distance this way and keep everyone safe. We finished the week out with Curt, Sandy and I working. The next week another employee got tested. He did not test positive, but the medical staff advised him to stay home that week, so Sandy and I cut meat during the day, and cleaned and butchered at night. We did have one of the guys come in two half days to give us a hand. When that week ended we pushed the chill room door shut and hoped it would stay shut. We were so glad when those two weeks were over and everyone was back at work on the following Monday and we could open the front door again. Then the real work began.

What was your favorite part about operating a meat locker?

The favorite thing about the Avon Locker for me was putting a good product together and then keeping it consistent. We always wanted to have satisfied customers, whether it was their processed beef or hog, or buying meat across the counter.

Who all is retiring from the meat locker and what is the next step for the Avon Locker? Will there be new owners?

After 28 1/2 years, I and my wife are both retiring. Sandra worked another job and would come back to the store after 5pm and we would finish up for the day. Five and a half years ago Sandra retired from Bon Homme Family Practice and began working more at the locker. The plan was that she would work 3 ½ days and have 2 days off. That worked pretty well until Covid-19 hit in March of 2019.

The locker has been sold to two young couples who will continue to carry on the business. It is now known as Southside Meats, LLC.

Why are you retiring? What will you miss about your work?

The reason for retiring? I am seventy-four-years-old and have been doing the butchering and it is just getting to be too much. After recovering from surgery in 2017 it has become harder, as the animals being brought in to process are getting so big and makes the job that much harder.

We will miss our employees and all the customers/friends we have made over the past 28 ½ years. It was so good to hear from people who enjoyed what we had done for them or how much they liked our products.