Customers crave Penokean Hills Farms new Bruce Mines butcher shop

If customer numbers are any indication of success, the weekend’s opening of Penokean Hills Farms' new abattoir and butcher shop outlet in Bruce Mines met the mark.

People crowded into the retail space just after Saturday’s 11 a.m. opening, looking at the displays of beef and pork cuts and other wares and picking out what they wanted.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Nancy MacDonald of Thessalon said as she waited to pay for the jar of honey and other items she found at the brand-new building just on the eastern outskirts of the community.

Ewelina and Sebastien Gionet were also looking for meat cuts that have become well-known for their quality and taste. They are produced by the farm cooperative of suppliers from across Algoma. The couple moved to Thessalon from Elliot Lake in August to be closer to the Sault, and it was at a store in Desbarats that they got their first taste of Penokean Hills meats.

“We’re trying to stock up our freezer. Why not get it while it’s hot,” Ewelina said, quickly dispelling any concerns about slightly higher prices. “For the quality, we’ve had their frozen steaks, and we’ve always liked them.”

Minority shareholder Nick Gordon, one of three shareholders, said the new butcher shop and abattoir replace a former facility the group had in Desbarats.

Gordon acknowledged the opening Friday and Saturday was considered a “soft opening," with a formal grand opening expected in May.

Gordon said opening times are also expected to be expanded and will depend on customer demands.

Finding meat suppliers was done either through word of mouth or by approaching suppliers who had the quality of product Penokean Hills was looking for.

The same process was used to find restaurants and butcher shops interested in selling their meat products.

“A lot of it was just calling them up and explaining what our story was and then them trying out our product, and it just grew from there,” he said. “About 75 per cent of our meat goes to the GTA and Waterloo.” (often to high-end restaurants.)

The company currently has 14 employees, and Gordon expects that it will go to 20 by the end of the year.

Published earlier this week on Sootoday:

Penokean Hills Farms is a group of Algoma-area farmers who raise grass-fed beef finished on an award-winning pea-and-barley diet that’s marketed under one brand. Their products are sold locally, across Northern Ontario, and in high-end butcher shops and restaurants in the GTA.

When it was launched in 2005, the primary goal of the company was to strengthen the Algoma cattle-farming industry and maintain and create new agricultural jobs for the region.

It’s since developed a reputation for producing tasty, high-quality beef that’s sought after in markets across the province.

In 2008, the company won the Premier’s Award for Agri-food Innovation Excellence for its pea-and-barley finishing diet, and in 2021, it was named Company of the Year (1-15 employees) during the Northern Ontario Business Awards (an initiative of Northern Ontario Business)