Northwest Butcher Supply has left Clackamas and moved into new, larger quarters in the Estacada Industrial Campus and celebrated with a ribbon cutting last week.
“This is about three times the size of our old building. It’s a much nicer building and a better price than we could have found in Clackamas,” said David Wolfe, owner and president of the 55-year-old business.
Wolfe bought the business about 11 years ago after 30 years in the meat industry.
Because of that background, “I understand my customers’ needs,” he said.
Northwest Butcher Supply sells both wholesale, to custom butcher shops, and retail, to folks who want to make their own sausage and other speciality meats.
“We’ve been working quite hard to build the retail business,” Wolfe said.
The new location has 2,000 feet of retail space and Wolfe gives classes on sausage making so people can get confident in the craft.
Wolfe said budding sausage makers don’t have to be hunters or ranchers.
“We’re getting so much business from people who don’t grow anything or raise animals,” he said.
Retail products include packaging machines and supplies, such as vacuum sealing, spices and casings for sausage making.
Wholesale products include those items, but also band saws, meat grinders and other more substantial equipment.
Northwest has only three employees, but is looking to hire one and probably two new workers. One would be a warehouse/delivery staffer and the other an outside sales person.
Wolfe prides himself on honesty and good customer service and he enjoys working with people.
“My customers are the most wonderful people ever,” he said.
“One of my objectives and goals is to share the years of experience I have in the meat industry and bring back some of the basics. Sausage making is complicated. But there is very little you can do to make it inedible,” he said.
“I do things I believe represent Christian morals and ideals” in my business, he said. “We’re selling only top quality products in a business based on honesty. That is so important to me,” he said.
“I want to make the world just a little bit better place,” he added. “We’re here for the community, as well as for ourselves.”
