MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024 - 70

SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS
" I wanted to be
'mom friendly,'
meaning that no box
of meat packs would
exceed 25 lbs. "
- DUSTIN STRICKLAND
goes back to July 4, 1980, when the original
country convenience store featured fireworks
and some of the South's best fried chicken.
When the family realized they would have to
work through that holiday period, they brought
in a few grills to cook ribs and a few extra
chickens for themselves. Many customers got
a whiff and a taste of those grilled items and
never stopped coming back.
For example, the gas pumps, propane gas
tanks, cigarettes and similar convenience items
are a thing of the past. His mother Trisha now
runs a bakery that might sell 150 cakes a day
and can produce their own baked breads for
the catering division. Dustin noted that the
bakery sales now amount to more than those
lost gas, propane and cigarette sales combined.
It also ended the customer confusion about
what this business is about.
Those meat eaters who come in to shop
at Strick's Specialty Meats can find virtually
all kinds of fresh or smoked meats on display,
from ostrich, alligator, turtle soup, antelope
and seafood to cuts of every style, in addition
to their barbecue roots fixings. They were
honored with a People's Choice award and
as the Best BBQ In The 'Burg. They certainly
haven't forgotten their barbecue restaurant
roots which opened the doors wider for their
catering department.
CATERING CREDENTIALS
Strick's caters about 400 events a year from
office and lumber business parties throughout
the area and they once participated in a post
Hurricane Katrina recovery event that helped
feed 15,000 people. Their reputation in catering
70 MEAT+POULTRY | 11.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
But the guy who never lost his " culinary
school mindset " began offering takeout or
dine in family meals of pork ribs, pulled pork,
chicken halves and brisket. The Strick's boast
that the processor " can cater any event " has
overflowed to holidays where whole or half
hams, brisket and other fare is featured. There
is also a formal catering menu from Strick's
BBQ that goes from $20 a person for a chicken
and brisket meal, to a seafood boil at $25 per
person and on to a $40 per person hand-carved
prime rib meal with all the trimmings.
Smoked sausage still seems to rule the
meat counter at Strick's. Specialty blends
like green onion and cheddar, pineapple and
pepper jack, andouille, are being upgraded to
what were " high caliber " blends with more
expensive offerings like their muffuletta, bacon
mozzarella, Philly cheesesteak and chipotle
mango seasoned sausages but still sold for no
more than $5 per lb.
Just how good are the products emanating
from Strick's Specialty Meats? Let's explain it
this way: a few years ago, someone suggested
Dustin consider joining a meat association to
learn more. He traveled to Pennsylvania to
attend the Pennsylvania Association of Meat
Processors 2015 convention and a processing
seminar at Penn State University's meat lab. He
won an award for the small diameter sausage
he entered into the cured meats competition.
In 2016 he became involved with the American
Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) and
this year entered the American Cured Meat
Championships in Omaha, Neb., and walked off
with the Grand Champion honors for his whole
muscle jerky, and a few other awards. And, as
a bonus, he was elected to a three-year term on
the AAMP board of directors.
When asked what's ahead in his thinking,
Dustin replied that the growth in his business
is prompting him to consider eventually
moving the processing operation to a separate
location.
http://www.meatpoultry.com
MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024

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