Trackside Butcher Shoppe

A Family Business with a Community Vision

Trackside Butcher Shoppe, in the small town of Campbellsburg, is more than just a family business venture for friends Chris Wright and John Edwards. The small meat processing facility is a community vision that the two local boys made a reality for area farmers when they opened the doors in November 2015.

"It all began in 2013 when Henry County Cattlemen's Association hired the team at Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD) to conduct a feasibility study for a processing facility in this area," explained John. "When the study showed there was a lot of potential for a processing facility to do well in the area, we thought someone would jump at the chance to open the business. We were surprised no one did.”

After much consideration Chris and John decided to step up and take on the challenge of building the processing facility for the farmers in the area. So the two entrepreneurs turned to KCARD for assistance in developing their business plan.

"The study KCARD completed in 2013 showed that there was local demand among area farmers for custom meat processing services." explained Brent Lackey, KCARD Business Development Specialist. "Fortunately, in helping John and Chris develop a business plan, we were able to pull a lot of information from the study, which aided them significantly in planning the development of Trackside.”

"We knew that there was going to be a big learning curve as we transitioned from farmers having meat processed to becoming the owners of a processing facility," said John. "Thankfully KCARD's staff has been with us every step of the way on this project.”

"John and Chris put a lot of time and effort into planning the opening of Trackside, and they have been great guys to work with," stated Brent Lackey. "They did a lot of research and reached out to many to learn as much about the meat processing business as possible before they opened.”

KCARD began working with John and Chris as they developed the business plan for Trackside. John explained that the KCARD staff not only helped them structure the plan, but also met with them regularly to update the business plan as the project evolved. KCARD also assisted the entrepreneurs in navigating the grant process.

"KCARD's involvement brought a level of credibility to the venture, as we went before the county councils and state Agriculture Development Board to pursue funding assistance," explained John. "With a project of this nature, we would not have been able to get a loan if we had not been approved for Agriculture Development Funds, and we would not have been able to get the Agriculture Development Funds had it not been for KCARD's help.”

After two long years of planning, Trackside Butcher Shoppe opened for business in November 2015. Trackside will provide custom processing of cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, and deer in the 6,000 square foot facility. The focus on designing a farmer friendly facility is evident with the pull-through unloading docks, which were developed for convenience and minimal animal stress. While custom processing will be the core business at the 6,000 square foot facility, the friends are already planning for the future.

"We have a lot of producers in the area that are marketing to others, so we are actively pursuing our USDA grant of inspection and hope to be a USDA-inspected facility by spring to provide another service to the farmers in our community," said John.

The main focus for the friends as they kick-off the family business in the New Year is to let farmers in the area know Trackside Butcher Shoppe is open for business.

"It has been exciting for us to see how supportive the community has been, as we were building the processing facility," said John. "We are looking forward to earning the business of the farmers in our area, as we build our family business.”

To learn more about Trackside Butcher Shoppe visit tracksidebutchershoppe.com.