Running a grocery store is about more than keeping the shelves stocked. For Strack & Van Til’s Meat Department, one of the core teams at each location, it’s about offering fresh products, new experiences, and high quality every day.
Strack & Van Til’s Meat Department Director Gary Teachman helps lead those efforts. He explained that the first thing the team needs to get right is its beef – ground, steaks, sausages, patties, however you can imagine it, the quality and supply is essential. Luckily, he said, they start from one of the strongest positions in the world of beef. They carry, exclusively, Certified Angus Beef – checked to ensure it meets strict standards of marbling, appearance, and tenderness.
“The nice thing about Certified Angus Beef is that it’s top 10% of choice beef that’s brought to market,” he said. “That’s all we use; we have a license for it and not too many people in the area have that license. It’s some of the highest choice of prime beef there is in the United States, and we have it right here.”
Teachman also highlighted that they go to similar efforts with their other cuts of meat, offering a variety of brands including Smithfield Prime Pork, Miller Amish local chicken, Smart Chicken, and Perdue products.
“If you look at our stores, you see such a wide variety of options,” he said. “We pride ourselves on that and our quality.”
Behind the scenes, the Strack & Van Til Meat Department team also cuts their meats daily, a task which Teachman noted is becoming increasingly uncommon at other grocers. They also grind their beef directly from solid muscle meat where other stores frequently grind from tubes of already ground beef.
“All of our meats are cut in the store; they’re all fresh cuts,” he said. “If you go to other larger stores, they’ll often come pre-cut. Those things can be 24 days old before you ever even open them. All of our beef and all of our pork is cut fresh, and our meat cutters take a lot of pride in that.”
A walk through the meat department is about more than the raw cuts these days however, as consumers look for pre-built meals, crock-pot kits, fajita assemblies, and more. Teachman noted one favorite – its stuffed peppers, made by the team and packed together to make life simple for Strack & Van Til customers.
“You can put it on a sheet, throw it in the oven, and have your dinner,” he said. “It’s very simple for our customers.”
Teachman also works to stay on the leading edge of the newest trends and technologies. He pours over trade magazines, journals, and the latest news to bring new experiences to the department.
“In my lifetime, I’ve never seen things change so quickly,” he said. “We work hard to stay on top of what our consumers want, and we’re going to keep trying different things on a continual basis to meet those demands.”
Crock pots and Instant Pots are one example – growing dramatically in popularity as families get busier and busier with less time to cook. The crock pot packages combine all kinds of different meats, cuts, and seasonings.
“You just dump the package and the seasoning in the pot and let it go all day,” he said. “If you’re leaving at seven in the morning and you work all day, you just turn the pot on low and dinner will be ready when you get back. It’s really important for us to make things easier for our customers.”
Also popular is its steamer bags, which mix salmon, tilapia, rice, and veggies into one bag.
“We were one of the first people to do these steamer bags,” he said. “You can just throw it in the microwave and have your dinner in five to six minutes, and it’s very good and fairly healthy.”
To learn more about Strack & Van Til, visit strackandvantil.com.
