ROUGH START Nick said it was challenging to start a new business during the height of the pandemic. But the fact that most supermarkets in the Des Moines area had meat counters that were virtually empty spurred them on. " I was surprised that in an area with so much livestock production that there was so little meat in the major stores, " he explained. " I was fortunate from day one to have a lead butcher who really knew the ropes. Calvin Schnucker was the right guy at the right time for us. I had gone into a local locker plant to learn how to market and merchandise meats. We were a team that bonded from the beginning. " Today Old Station Craft Meats is staffed with seven full-time employees and three part timers. This includes Nick's wife Suzanne and two teenage sons. The shop has about a 50-50 ratio of retail area and production space. The decor also reflects vestiges of the building's history. Last year the company doubled its cooler storage, and this year's plans include increasing the freezer storage area. So, what made this start-up business take off like a Harrier jet? They operate under Iowa Department of Agriculture jurisdiction and early this year hope to go under the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program, which would allow state-inspected meats that parallel US Department of Agriculture rules and standards to ship products into other states. Nick credits the team's understanding of livestock marketing and knowing that all the meat should be used to earn a better return on sales. He works with several nearby locker plants that handle slaughter and Old Station Craft Meats receives products from them as sides and quarters. " We try to put out new cuts that customers are not used to seeing, " he explained. " We want to teach them how to prepare and cook them. I would call it open communications with our shoppers. It may be hard to do but believe me, it is worth it when you have an informed shopper who knows where their meats are coming from and how to cook the cuts properly. "http://www.jax.com